Putuo Zongcheng Temple stands north of the Mountain Resort at Chengde. It was built between 1767 and 1771, in the Qianlong reign, and its model was the Potala Palace at Lhasa. The occasion was the visit of the Torghut leader Ubashi, who had brought his people back from the lower Volga to Qing territory. The temple's red and white terraces, golden roofs and Chinese-style details make it the largest of the eight outer temples.
Between 1767 and 1771 the Qianlong emperor raised a temple north of his Chengde summer palace, modelled on the Potala in Lhasa. Its red platform, gilded roofs and white terraces were built to mark two imperial birthdays and to receive envoys from the empire's frontiers.