|
 
|
|
| |
 |
| |
Shenyang is the capital of Liaoning and covers an area of 13,000 sq km. With a population of 6.5 million, it is the largest city in northeast China. Today it is a major industrial city, but as one of the main cities of old Manchuria, Shenyang also has an interesting past.
During the 17th century Shenyang was capital of the Manchu empire and an imperial palace was built to rival that of the Ming emperors in Beijing. When the Manchus overthrew the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and founded the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) they moved their seat of power to Beijing. Today, Shenyang imperial palace complex is well preserved and fairly complete, though still 2nd in grandeur to the Forbidden City in Beijing.
For the first half of the 20th century, Shenyang was under the control of different powers. The Russians, Japanese, Nationalist and KMT all held power at various points before it was liberated by the communists in 1948.
Shenyang is primarily an industrial city and the architecture is generally uninteresting. However the Imperial Palace and East Mausoleum which commemorate the founders of the Qing dynasty, are worth visiting.
|
|
|
