SCENES & SIGHTS

Emperors' Summer Resort

A famed historical and cultural city 163 km from Beijing and 210km from Tianjin, Chengde was, for a time, the second political and cultural center for the Qing. Today it is better known for its Mountain Summer Resort, the world's largest classical imperial garden resort, and the Eight Outer Temples, the leading imperial religious establishment in China. The formidable Jinshanling section of the Great Wall is in Chengde, which also has such bio-tourist resources as the Royal Mulan Hunting Ground and large expanses of forests and grassland. The grassland at Fengning is billed as the best of its kind north of Beijing. It took 87 years (1703-1790) for the 5.64 million-square-metre Mountain Summer Resort north of Chengde to be completed as the exclusive summering place for Qing emperors. The Mountain Summer Resort, and the Eight Outer Temples that are scattered around it, were designated as world cultural heritage sites in 1994. Every year visitors go in droves to the resort and the temples. The Chengde Tourist Festival and the Forest and Grassland Holidaymaking Festival are held there on an annual basis.

Great Wall Tour

The Great Wall is an emblem of China. Hebei Province has the most representative architectural structures of it, including sections of the Ming Great Wall, more than 2,000km long, 286 passes and fortifications, and 20 or so of the wall's best sections. Laolongtou, where the Great Wall dips into the sea, Shanhaiguan, reputedly the first pass on the wall, Jinshanling, where the Great Wall looks the most magnificent, and Panjiakou, where the Great Wall runs across an expanse of water-all these places are in Hebei Province. Hiking or bicycling along the Great Wall proves a most unforgettable experience.

East and West Qing Tombs

The remains of Qing emperors Kangxi and Qianlong, and the Empress Dowager Cixi were buried in the 2,5000square-km East Tombs in Zunhua. The underground palaces of the tombs of Qianlong and Cixi are open to tourists. Emperor Yongzheng and Pu Yi, China's last emperor, were buried at the 100-square-km West Tombs of the Qing in Yixian County.

Baoding Health-Care Tour

Health-care is an old tradition in Baoding, a famed historical and cultural city where the average life expectancy is 6.4 years higher than the national average. Visitors to the city may learn something about the martial arts, qigong, taiji boxing, shuttlecock kicking, tonic diet, hot spring bathing, traditional massage, and the varied old-age life. They may also visit such hostrcal sites as the mansion of the governor of Zhili, the Ancient Lotus Pond, and the Temple of the King of Medicine.

Zhuozhou Three-Kingdom Cultural Tour

Zhuozhou is fabled in the Three-Kingdom history. The Peach Garden, where Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei became sworn brothers, Sanjy Palace in memory of their brotherhood in Liu Bei's birthplace, and the temple of Zhang Fei and the well in which he fetched water, are still there. Zhuozhou is the largest site of Asia's film-making center run by China Central Television.

Wuqiao Acrobatics Tour

Wuqiao is a land of acrobatics. Everybody in this county, senior citizens and toddlers alike, plays one acrobatic stunt or another. Acrobatics troupes are a dime a dozen there. The Wuqiao International Acrobatic Festival is an annual event.

Martial Arts Tour

Hebei is a cradle of Chinese martial arts. Practicing marital arts is a local obsession for both Cangzhou city, a famous land of martial arts, and Yongnian County in Handan, where the yang and Wu styles of taijie boxing were originated. And Baoding is famed for its wrestling. Large numbers of martial arts studios and classes in these places have attracted numerous visitors and marital arts fans from around the world.

Qinhuangdao Beach Holiday Tour

Lying by the Bohai Sea and 270km east of Beijing, Qinhuangdao was the oldest beach resort in China. Major attractions: Laolongtou, Shanhaiguan ("No.1 Pass Under Heaven"), Great Wall Museum, Wildlife Zoo, Marine world, Wanbo Cultural city. Among the beach resorts are Beidaihe, Nandaihe, and Changli Golden Coast International Sand-Sliding Centre. Beidaihe, where top Chinese leaders run state affairs in summer, is also ideal for bio-tourism and bird watching. Seventy percent of the beach is covered with forests, which are home to 405 kinds of birds, including 68 world-or national-class species under state protection. In summer Beidaihe is the venue of Great Wall Cultural festival, the Sea Tour Carnival, and Seaside Bird Watching Festival.

Buddhist Pilgrimage Tour

Linji Monastery in Zhengding County was the cradle of the Linji Sect, one of the five Ch'an schools of Buddhism, which has achieved wide popularity in China, Japan, South Korea, and south east Asia since its inception by the Tang monk Yixuan. Pilgrims always throng Longxing Monastery in Zhengding.

Ancient Culture Tour of Handan

The famous historical and cultural city of Handan, 420km from Beijing, has a lot to offer its visitors. These include Congtai Terrace in Wuling, capital of Zhao during the Warring States Period; ruins of the imperial city of the state of Zhao; grottoes at Xiangtang Mountain; the palace of Nuwa, the legendary creator-goddess, and where she patched up the sky with stone blocks; and ruins of the Cizhou Porcelain Kilns of the Song. Handan is also where 1,000 or so Chinese idioms were originated. Yongnian County is where the Yang and Wu schools of taiji boxing rose, and a cultural center in association with taiji boxing. Yongnian International Taiji Boxers' Gathering is a popular event for fans from around the world to compete and swap experience.