Chengde

Chengde is a prefecture-level city situated in the northeastern portion of Hebei province, positioned approximately 225 kilometres northeast of Beijing. Formerly known by the names Jehol and Rehe, the municipality is defined by expansive geographic dimensions that establish it as the largest prefecture in Hebei by total area.

The city's geographic coordinates span a latitude of 40° 12' to 42° 37' N and a longitude of 115° 54' to 119° 15' E, encompassing the absolute northernmost point within the province. Measuring outward from its boundaries, the prefecture stretches 269 kilometres from north to south and 280 kilometres from west to east. Encompassing a total area of 39,702.4 square kilometres, Chengde occupies 21.2 percent of the entire provincial territory. Because the underlying terrain is predominantly mountainous, the region sustains a relatively low population density across its municipal boundaries.

Chengde shares its territorial borders with Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Beijing, and Tianjin. Its neighbouring prefecture-level provincial cities include Qinhuangdao and Tangshan situated on the Bohai Gulf, alongside the land-locked city of Zhangjiakou. Due to its direct proximity to the Liaoning border, the prefecture is frequently regarded as belonging to both the North China and Northeast China regions.

The municipality historically derived its former name—Jehol or Rehe, translated as Hot River—from a local waterway that remained unfrozen during the coldest winter months. In the modern era, however, the construction of dams has left most sections of the river's former course entirely dry. The territory experiences a four-season, monsoon-influenced humid continental climate, with conditions varying widely across the expanse of the prefecture. Winters are described as moderately long, cold, windy, and dry, while summers are typically hot and humid. Near the city proper, temperatures remain notably cooler than those recorded in Beijing due to the elevation, and annual precipitation averages about 504 millimetres, with the majority of rainfall concentrated during the three summer months.

For more information, consult the Chengde entry on Wikipedia or review geographic records via GeoNames.