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shenyang

沈阳

I spent 2 years in Jinzhou located in Northeast China's Liaoning Province. Shenyang (once known to westerners as Mukden) is Liaoning's capital city. It was the first capital of the Qing Dynasty when the Qing overthrew the Ming. The Qing emperor soon moved the capital back to Beijing but the original Qing palace still exists in Shenyang today. Other than The Forbidden City in Beijing, the Shenyang palace is the only other dynastic palace still existing among the 11 or so cities around China which have served as capitals through the ages in China.

Shenyang had a reputation as being a cold, grimy, dirty, industrial wasteland. However, I found it didn't live up to its bad reputation. In fact, I enjoyed visiting Shenyang and would often go there for a weekend getaway from Jinzhou. Bei Ling Park on the north side of the city houses the tomb of Huang Taiji (1592-1643), the founder of the Qing Dynasty. It's also a very large park area with lots of greenspace (but also some of the Chinese tackiness which is de rigueur in Chinese parks today).

Despite what you may hear or read, Shenyang is worth a visit if you happen to be up near Northeast China. And like all the cities in that area, the people are great - the kindest and friendliest in all of China.

pictures coming soon.....