Long Road Up the Mountain in Chengde 承德
I was randomly walking about the huge Mountain Resort 避暑山庄 in Chengde when I found myself walking back to the entrance. The place is so vast that it is really difficult to cover in a single day. The entrance also happens to be the a good starting point since this is also where a trail to the mountain portion of the park starts. The trail, is not exactly the rough kind of trail as it is very nicely paved. Maybe too nicely, since it is also here where tourist carts ferry passengers from the entrance to various spots in the park. In fact, this would probably one of the easiest ways to explore the entire park especially if you are short on time.
One of the Pavillions Along the Way Up
It decided to walk the way up the mountain, since it doesn’t seem to be that steep and I didn’t think it was that far. Unfortunately, it was. I met an elderly couple on the way up the mountain and the gentleman starting talking to me. He said that it was not a good idea to walk all the way up the mountain as it would take too much time. He was also recommending some places for me to visit such as the Wenjin Chamber, which I unknowingly visited and the lakes area. He also showed me a “shortcut” through the mountain which would bring me to one of the more popular sites in the area. He also showed me a way down the mountain which would bring me to certain interesting places. I thanked the elderly couple and I was on my way again.
[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/MountainResort.kmz} zoom=19]