“An important task I faced, after joining the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization, was to help the Mountain Resort in Chengde
apply to be designated a World Cultural Relic," a UN official recalled.
However, it was not an easy task, because most members of the World Culture
and Natural Relics Committee were from Europe and the United States. As a
result, they knew little about China. They asked: "Where is the Mountain
Resort in Chengde? Is it in Manchuria?" It is a pity I had not visited
Chengde. So I did my best to collect all relevant documents about the resort. I said: "The Mountain Resort in Chengde
is the largest imperial garden in the world. With its 10-kilometre wall, and
an area of 5.64 square kilometers, which is bigger than Fontainebleau, the
resort is equivalent to five Chateaus de Versailles. Furthermore, one-third
of the major historical events during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) occurred
at the resort. One official once asked me: "Have you ever been there?"
I had not. Nevertheless, the Mountain Resort was listed in 1993, due in part
to my efforts, as a World Cultural Relic.
In May 1994, two experts sent by UNESCO highly praised the Mountain Resort,
and the outlying temples, after they conducted a field inspection. They believed
the resort and temples belonged to the world.
At one point, the World Heritage Committee said in a statement: "It is
a vast complex of palaces and administrative and ceremonial buildings. Temples,
of various architectural styles, and imperial gardens blend harmoniously into
a landscape of lakes, pastures and forests. In addition, to its aesthetic
interest, the Mountain Resort is a rare historic vestige of the final development
of feudal society in China."
The Mountain Resort (the Qing Dynasty's summer palace), in North China's Hebei
Province, was built between 1703 and 1792.
