The train journey from Beijing to Chengde takes four and a half hours, travelling through verdant, rolling countryside and past the Great Wall before arriving at the train station in the south of town. Surprisingly, travelling from Beijing by bus is slightly quicker as the route is more direct; buses terminate at the long-distance bus station just off Wulie Lu in the centre of town. Touts wait in ambush at both stations, and can be useful if you already have a hotel in mind, as you won't be charged for the ride there; however, they will hassle you throughout the journey to take a minibus tour with them, and might unceremoniously dump you should you refuse. Onward train tickets can be booked from CITS at 6 Nanyuan Lu (tel 2026827), near the Yunshan Hotel, or from any of the hotels, for a surcharge of around ¥30.

Getting around Chengde by public transport isn't easy, as local buses are infrequent and are always crammed. Buses #2 and #3, which go from the train station to the mountain resort, and bus #6, from the resort to the Puning Si, are the most useful. Taxis are common, but the drivers are unwilling to use their meters - a ride around town should cost ¥5, to an outlying temple ¥10. At peak hours during the summer season (June-Sept), the main streets are so congested that it's quicker to walk. The town itself is just about small enough to cover on foot, but the best way to get around is by bicycle , which you can rent from a shop (daily 8.30am-5pm; ¥10 a day) on Xinhua Bei Lu.

If your time is limited, a minibus tour is worth considering as a way to cram in all the sights. English-speaking tours can be arranged through CITS or through the larger hotels; expect to pay around ¥50 for a day. Chinese tours, which leave sporadically from outside the train station, are slightly cheaper. A one-day organized tour, to the resort in the morning and the biggest temples in the afternoon, is something of a trial of endurance, however, and they do tend to overlook the less spectacular temples, which is a shame, as these are also the most peaceful. Probably the best way to see everything in a short time, without going down with temple fatigue, is to take a minibus or a bike around the temples one day and explore the mountain resort the next. If you're travelling in a group you can rent a taxi or a minibus for around ¥150 a day (barter hard) and make up your own itinerary.

There are also longer tours on offer, stretching to four and five days and taking in a section of the Great Wall at Jinshanling, 113km southwest, and the Eastern Tombs in Zunhua County 150km east, so expect to spend a lot of time on a bus.

The telephone code for Chengde is 0314.