I spent two full days in this city, four hours north of Beijing by bus. Chengde itself is a nice enough encounter with Chinese city life outside the capital. No Mcdonald's or Starbucks can be found here. What it does have is steam trains - an internet search in preparation for this trip resulted in many exciting stories by trainspotters.

But I had my own spotting to do: the Chengde Imperial Resort as World Cultural Heritage. On my first day, I explored the huge park. Don't be fooled by the somewhat standard Chinese gates and buildings at the entrance: when you've passed them you enter a lovely landscape park. There are several lakes, a steppe, and a forest. In the best "natural" spots, pavilions and temples were added. For example the tall and elegant Yongyou si Pagoda.

The next day I walked to some of the outlying temples. Most prominent is the Putuozongsheng, modelled after Lhasa's Potala Palace. It's a strange sight to see it here, in northern China, as well as in the neighbouring Xumifushoumiao (a recreation of the Tashilhunpo monastery in Xigaze). Both are well looked after and brightly painted, but lack the atmosphere of an active Buddhist monastery.