Chengde Tangquan Imperial Palace

Chengde Tangquan Imperial Palace

Chengde Tangquan Imperial Palace is a cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province.

Chengde Tangquan Imperial Palace

Although there are many hot spring resorts around Chengde, the only one favored by Qing emperors and developed into an imperial palace is located in Tangquan Village, Tougu Town, Chengde County. Just 44 kilometers from downtown Chengde, this Qing Dynasty imperial palace was first built in the 45th year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign (1706 AD). Today, its main hall, …

Emperor Kangxi first discovered the hot springs at Tangshan in the 31st year of his reign (1692 AD). After taking a bath, he found the spring water “even warmer and more suitable for the body,” and thus began planning to build an imperial palace. By the 45th year of Kangxi’s reign (1706 AD), the Chengde Mountain Resort was already taking shape, and construction of the Tangquan Imperial Palace officially commenced. Since there was already a temple dedicated to the Dragon Subduing King Buddha, the various halls were renovated, and the palace was constructed on the hillside behind the temple. As Kangxi wrote in the inscription, “A perimeter wall was built, and several palace rooms were constructed as a place for summer retreat and rest.” In the 55th year of Kangxi’s reign (1716 AD), the Kangxi Emperor himself composed the “Imperial Inscription on the Dragon Subduing King Buddha Temple at Tangshan.” The inscription lavishly praises the hot springs: “Among the historically recorded hot springs, those at Lishan and Tiandu are the most famous, while others are scattered across mountain records and journals, but this spring is particularly miraculous.” The overall layout of the Tangquan Imperial Palace consists of two parts: the front section houses the Dragon Subduing King Buddha Temple (also known as the Water Goddess Temple), and the rear section contains the palace buildings, all enclosed within a 300-meter-long perimeter wall. Surrounding the palace buildings are rockeries and corridors. According to a memorial submitted in the 7th year of Qianlong’s reign (1742 AD) by Batur, the Rehe (Jehol) General, “The Tangquan Imperial Palace has a total of 187 rooms, including various-sized chambers and corridors.” The ancient structures that remain today include the gate hall, main hall, main hot spring pool, rockery, and perimeter wall.

Like other imperial palaces outside the pass, the Tangquan Imperial Palace was abolished during the Qianlong era as the Qing government shifted its focus and resources elsewhere. However, it did not become a ruin, thanks to the miraculous and wonderful hot spring waters. During the late Qing Dynasty, the Republican era, and up until before the liberation, local officials and residents consistently maintained the site. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the government established a medical facility here to provide therapeutic treatments using the spring water, bringing relief to many sufferers. In the early 1990s, the county invested 800,000 yuan to build a sanatorium building outside the palace, equipped it with medical facilities, improved the management system, and was able to accommodate over a thousand health seekers annually, breathing new vitality into the Tangshan hot springs.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Hebei Province