Originally called "Rehe", the town was discovered by the Qing-dynasty emperor Kangxi at the end of the seventeenth century, while marching his troops to the Mulan hunting range to the north. He was attracted to the cool summer climate and the rugged landscape, and built small lodges here from where he could indulge in a fantasy Manchu lifestyle, hunting and hiking like his northern ancestors. The building programme expanded when it became diplomatically useful to spend time north of Beijing, to forge closer links with the troublesome Mongol tribes. Kangxi, perhaps the ablest and most enlightened of his dynasty, was known more for his economy - "The people are the foundation of the kingdom, if they have enough then the kingdom is rich" - than for such displays of imperial grandeur. Chengde, however, was a thoroughly pragmatic creation, devised as an effective means of defending the empire by overawing Mongol princes with splendid audiences, hunting parties and impressive military manoeuvres. He firmly resisted all petitions to have the Great Wall repaired, as an unnecessary burden on the people, and as a poor means of control, too, no doubt, as it had imposed no obstacle to the founders of his dynasty only a few years before.

Construction of the first palaces started in 1703; by 1711 there were 36 palaces, temples, monasteries and pagodas set in a great walled park with ornamental pools and islands dotted with beautiful pavilions and linked by bridges. Craftsmen from all parts of China were gathered to work on the project, with Kangxi's grandson, Qianlong (1736-1796), adding another 36 imperial buildings during his reign, which was considered to be the heyday of Chengde.

In 1786, the Panchen Lama was summoned from Tibet by Qianlong for his birthday celebrations. This was an adroit political move to impress the followers of Lamaist Buddhism. The Buddhists included a number of minority groups who were prominent thorns in the emperor's side, such as Tibetans, Mongols, Torguts, Eleuths, Djungars and Kalmucks. Some accounts (notably not the Chinese) tell how Qianlong invited the Panchen Lama to sit with him on the Dragon Throne, which was taken to Chengde for the summer season. He was certainly feted with honours and bestowed with costly gifts and titles, but the greatest impression on him and his followers must have been made by the replica of the Potala and of his own palace, constructed at Chengde to make him feel at home - a munificent gesture, and one that would not have been lost on the Lamaists. However, the Panchen Lama's visit ended questionably when he succumbed to smallpox, or possibly poison, in Beijing and his coffin was returned to Tibet with a stupendous funeral cortege.

The first British Embassy to China, under Lord Macartney, also visited Qianlong's court in 1793. Having suffered the indignity of sailing up the river to Beijing in a ship whose sails were painted with characters reading "Tribute bearers from the vassal king of England", they had been somewhat disgruntled to discover that the emperor had decamped to Chengde for the summer. However, they made the 150-kilometre journey - in impractical European carriages - arriving at Chengde in September 1793. They were well received by the emperor, despite Macartney's refusal to kowtow, and in spite of Qianlong's disappointment with their gifts, supplied by the opportunist East India Company. Qianlong, at the height of Manchu power, was able to hold out against the British demands, refusing to grant any of the treaties requested and remarking, in reply to a request for trade: "We posses all things. I set no value on objects strange or ingenious, and have no use for your country's manufactures." His letter to the British monarch concluded, magnificently, "O king, Tremblingly Obey and Show No Negligence!"

Chengde gradually lost its imperial popularity when the place came to be seen as unlucky after emperors Jiaqing and Xianfeng died here in 1820 and 1860 respectively. The buildings were left empty and neglected for most of the twentieth century, but largely escaped the ravages of the Cultural Revolution. Restoration, in the interests of tourism, began in the 1980s and is ongoing.