Travel Reviews >> 

Shenyang Travel Review

At first glance, Shenyang may appear to be just a dusty town at the heart of the rust belt of the northeast. However this large, industrial city was the cradle of the Qing dynasty, and it was here that the Manchus had their capital, Mukden. In just a day, travelers can see sights to rival Beijing's, but without the crowds.

8am: Start the day with the ample international buffet breakfast at the Traders Hotel. This four-star Shangri-La hotel is centrally located and offers a comfortable base to explore the city.

9am: Take a taxi to the North Tomb, set in the spacious grounds of Beiling Park. In winter, the lakes are transformed into ice rinks. At the north end of the park, the sprawling tomb is very similar in layout to those of the Ming dynasty. The approach is flanked by 12 sets of stone animals, both real and mythical. Pass through a walled compound of buildings to get to the burial mound of Abahai (Huang Taiji), who instigated the war which led to the founding of the Qing dynasty, though he didn't live to see the result.

10:30am: Next stop, the Imperial Palace. Work started on this mini Forbidden City with Manchu features in 1624 under Nurhachi, and was completed in 1636 by his son Abahai. At the time, the Phoenix Tower in the middle of the complex was, at three storys, the highest building in the city. After the foundation of the Qing dynasty the capital moved to Beijing but the emperors still regularly returned to the palace as their ancestral power base. Emperor Qianlong added the western section in a mixture of Han and Mongol architectural styles. With 300 rooms in 70 buildings covering 60,000 square meters, there is a lot of ground to cover.

12:30pm: Head to nearby Shenyang institution Lao Bian Dumplings for lunch. Although there is no English menu at this two-floor restaurant, they are used to dealing with foreigners and will patiently explain their large variety of steamed or boiled jiaozi.

1:30pm: Take a taxi to the September 18 History Museum on the edge of the city. Named after the date in 1931 when the Japanese captured the city, the museum chronicles the occupation of Manchuria and the resistance of the Chinese people. Many of the displays are gruesome and include uncovered skeletons from mass burial pits and torture implements including a metal-spiked rolling cage.

3:30pm: Take your pick from the nearby North Pagoda or the East Tomb eight kilometers outside the city. North Pagoda is one of the four pagodas which originally marked the city boundaries. Similar to a Tibetan-style temple, the Pagoda features prayer wheels and a white stupa; note that only a few of the original buildings are extant. The East Tomb is the final resting place of Nurhachi. During his rule he brought together the eight squabbling Manchu tribes under military rule. Similar in layout to the North Tomb, it is set amongst cedar trees overlooking a river.

7pm: For dinner, visit another restaurant with a long history and reputation, Bao Fa Yuan. Established in 1910, it is famous for four special dishes, named three liu and one jian after the method of cooking. It is said that the Manchurian warlord Zhang Xue Liang (famous for kidnapping Jiang Jieshi) once visited the city solely to sample the four dishes. In our opinion, however, two of the dishes, one based on liver and the other kidney, are an acquired taste, though the meatballs and eggs with vegetable are indeed worthy of their fame.

That said, there's plenty more to love about Shenyang.
 

About the Author

http://www.yangshuochina.com