Chengde

Chengde is a city with many AAAAA scenic sites (Top rating for China’s tourist attractions) which includes the Summer Resort(避暑山庄), Small Potala Temple(小布达拉宫), Pule Temple普乐寺  and is located to the northeast of Beijing.  Its close proximity to the capital city of China means that it is a very good spot for a short weekend trip.

Is it worth going? 

In my opinion, definitely. Many world class attractions are packed closely in this small city within easy accessible reach and there are ample photo opportunities. The air in Chengde is also cleaner than Beijing(note the blue skies in the pictures) and it is a good escape for your lungs too. The basic cost of this trip is also very low, working out to about less than 300 RMB (60 SGD) for 2 train rides and accomodation for a night.  The cost of the tickets and food would add probably another 200 RMB which totals the trip cost at about 100 SGD. Which is pretty decent by any standards.

Note: This recommendation only stands for non-peak season, which is during non-summer periods. During peak season, hotels are very expensive, attractions are very crowded, and it becomes a classic case of tourist trap.

小布达拉 viewed from the Rooftop of 行宫

There are many ways to get to Chengde:

1) You could take a long distance bus(there are many ways to take it, 东直门，望京西，六里桥。。）, I really do not recommend this as it does not bring you near to the city center where all the attractions are located. The bus is also jerky and the roads may be poorly maintained, coupled with usually poor driving skills. You could also be subjected to jams, and you will be trapped in a full bus with 50 other people with no leg space because the buses only leave when they are full. A bus costs around 50 Yuan and you still have to transfer to something else(another bus or cab) to reach your destination.

2) You can take a train there, which I really prefer and recommend.

Suggested itinerary by train

Saturday morning:

Take K7711 – Leaves Beijing Station at 0805, reaches Chengde at 1231

Note:  I chose the soft seat(61 RMB) versus the hard seat which is slightly cheaper because it offers you a lot more leg space and it is really very worth the price differential. The environment is also different because you filter out the people who are willing to pay a higher price. I have tried and tested most forms of trains and seats and I recommend paying for the best class if you want to have a comfortable journey(note: this is on slower trains, that has either no letter at the start, or K, T trains; for D,C,G trains which are considered bullet trains please take only 2nd class seats because the price is really steep on the upgrade). I shall not launch into a train guide but I will hopefully publish the tactics of choosing and securing your seat/bed on that train that will take you somewhere.

You can get to the city center from train station at 1RMB on buses 1 or 7. 

Visit Small Potala Temple and its sister temple, then visit Pule Temple(closes at 5pm)

Take bus 118 from city centre to Potala, then take the electronic cart to the sister temple after you are done. Then take bus 6 or 26 to Pule. If you are in a hurry, take a cab, it does not cost much. Meters start at 6RMB and take forever to go to the next tick. Beware of cabbies who do not use the meter, make it clear that you will not take their cab should they not use the meter and most of them will oblige. 

On a side note I have something to say about errant cab drivers. Although there are many of them around, and you would most probably meet one in your time here, I believe we should not pre-judge them and assume that the cab driver is bad as you get into the vehicle. A majority of them are honest people who make a honest(and hard) living and it would be slanderous to assume that they are out to cheat your money. Innocent until proven guilty is probably the best policy to undertake here.

小布达拉

普乐寺

Day 2: 

Wake up early, and head to the Summer Resort(避暑山庄）which is the main attraction of the city, opens at 8am and it is good to reach there early because otherwise there might be too many tourists which will affect the scenery.

Somewhere in 避暑山庄

Nice right? Any later and you will see a swarm of people everywhere, even though the place is rather huge, you will be amazed by the number of tourists that will suddenly “spawn”.

This is a very scenic chilling place for many, and locals do taichi at some corners of the park.

Taichi somewhere in the park

It takes about 4 hours to fully walk around this place.

Something you will see as you walk around

K7712 back to Beijing 1353-1815

Then it is time to pack up and make your way to the train station, if you are just with your backpack you can take a bus directly. If you travel heavy and you stay in the city center, you should check out early in the morning, pick up your luggage and just cab there because buses can get crowded at that time.

For me, I travel heavy as I nearly always bring my laptop, my tripod, and other stuff so I chose to stay near the train station instead so that I can bus down and then drag my small luggage to the train station. Not travelling light is an unfortunate habit cultivated by too many road trips where I always had the car boot to dump my stuff.

You will arrive in Beijing with plenty of time to spare to do something at night!

Will try to cover the other cities that I have visited soon. Stay tuned.