Jennifer Xu, our guide, picked us up in Beijing and we drove to Chengde on a new highway. The Yunshan Hotel was a huge step down from the Grand Hotel in Beijing. For one, the rooms were a bit dirty and the bed was rock hard. In fact, the bed contained a box spring without the mattress on top. The people of Chengde are a hardy people! Fortunately, we are only here for two nights.
We visited the Imperial Summer Palace, which is essentially a pretty, public park now. Most of the buildings were modern reconstructions, but the complex must have been beautiful at one time.
