After I moved to China for my postdoctoral job, I have tremendously enjoyed my time in China -it has been a wonderful period so far. Despite not speaking Mandarin fluently, I managed to travel to so many interesting Chinese travel destinations. For example, in May 2018 I visited north-eastern part of China. My trip started from Suzhou, then I flew from Shanghai to Harbin (travel reviews: Part 1 and Part 2) by a Shandong Airlines flight. From Harbin I came to Changchun and my last stop was Shenyang city – the capital of Liaoning province.
In fact, when I reached Shenyang, I was feeling quite frustrated about my Changchun city trip. Although Shenyang city wasn’t as much inspiring as Harbin, I indeed enjoyed exploring the city and had a memorable time in Shenyang.
In this post, I’d share some key observations about Shenyang city along with the city’s top travel attractions. I’m also including travel photos that I captured therein– and hope you’d appreciate my recommendations about the top things to do in Shenyang.
If you’d like to know more about China, here a couple of relevant posts-
- Chinese train guide- China High Speed Rail (Fast Bullet Train) Guide (Shenyang to Suzhou),
- China bus guide – Chinese Intercity Bus Travel,
- Flight booking guide- Qunar.com Flight Booking Review.
Shenyang china travel map
Let me show you the Baidu travel map of Shenyang city. The two operating lines (Red/Yellow) of Shenyang subway (MRT/Metro) system are also displayed on the map. With a basic knowledge of Mandarin Chinese, you’d be able to read most of the characters on the map-
Shenyang weather and temperature
Well, the May month’s weather conditions in Shenyang have been usually quite nice. It did rain occasionally. Quite often, there were dry winds and the mid-day temperature hovered around 25’C.
Although walking under the sun was a bit difficult, the weather was nice compared to what I felt in June while travelling in Qufu and Jinan (both in Shandong province).
Shenyang Public Transport
The public transportation in Shenyang is indeed well organized. As shown on the Shenyang map, there are two subway lines running in the east-west and north-south directions. You can buy a subway card to save some fare. There is also an extensive city coverage by the buses- RMB 2/ride/person for the air-conditioned buses. Baidu Map is your best friend while travelling in China. Make sure to mark the important Shenyang travel attractions on the map.
Shenyang hotel
There are plenty of accommodation options in Shenyang. If you are in the city for tourism/sightseeing, it’s recommended to find a hotel near the Shenyang Imperial Palace. This is the city center area with many top Shenyang attractions located at a walking distance. Usually, all the Shenyang hotels would accept payments by cash, WeChat or Alipay.
Labors at a roadside in Shenyang
I was staying near the Huaiyuanmen subway station. I saw something unique for the first time in China – there were labor (e.g. carpenters, etc.) waiting outside the road for someone to hire them – maybe on an hourly basis or so. They’d often wait long hours before being hired – I felt touched.
Here is one of the photos for your reference-
Now let me quickly go through the list of top Shenyang travel attractions.
top things to do in Shenyang China
Mukden Palace
Well, the Shenyang Imperial Palace or the Mukden Palace (故宫- Gugong, or 沈阳故宫) is indeed one of the top things to do in Shenyang. The palace was built in the 1620s during the reign of Nurhachi – the founder of the Qing dynasty. Apart from the forbidden city in Beijing, this is the only existing royal palace in China. Although area wise its less than 10% of the forbidden city, there are nearly 300 rooms in the Shenyang Imperial Palace.
One of the palace halls is named as the Hall of Great Affairs – the hall where the emperors used to ascend to the throne.
You can easily spend nearly more than a half day exploring the palace. Crowded on weekends. RMB 60.
City walls
For long years, Shenyang also boasted an impressive city wall similar to those in Nanjing or Xi‘an. However, the original wall was almost destroyed in 1950s. What now remains is the only a fraction of the erstwhile city wall. You should not miss the Huaiyuanmen (怀远门, Huáiyuǎn mén) and Fujinmen (抚近门, Fǔ jìn mén) – they have been part of the city wall and are located at the opposite ends of the Shenyang road (Lu). Although you can’t climb on them, it’s free to visit and take pics.
Former residence museum of Zhang Xueliang
A trip to the residence of Zhang Xueliang (now a museum) is highly recommended. The museum depicts life of Marshal Zhang, who is highly respected by the Chinese government. You can literally enter his rooms and feel his life.
I was particularly impressed by the arrangements for the tourists. The official tour guide have a distinctive uniform and the guide looked rather tall.
The museum is also known as Marshal Zhang’s Mansion (Baidu- 少帥, Shǎo shuài or 张氏帅府, Zhāng shì shuài fǔ ). RMB 40 – payment only by cash. The ticket price also includes a free visit to the Shenyang Financial Museum.
Shenyang Financial Museum
The financial museum is located next to the residence of Zhang Xueliang. The museum depicts China’s financial market development – including the stocks market, currency, etc. However, most of the display’s descriptions are in Chinese. Still, worth stopping by.
Huang temple
This is a beautiful Buddhist Lama temple (Baidu – Huang Shi, 皇寺, built in 1636). You can complete a visit within 30 minutes or so. Free entry.
The legend says that the former Manchu emperors used to visit the temple without fail during their trips to Shenyang city. Also, there is a famous shopping market, Beishichang, located right near the entrance to the Huang temple.
Mao Zedong’s Statue
Mao Zedong is a celebrated leader in China and his statues are widespread on the mainland. In Shenyang, the statue is located on the “taxi square”. This is considered to be one of the largest statues of Mao Zhedong (or probably the largest- 毛泽东塑像, Máozédōng sùxiàng). The base of the statue portrays soldiers and peasants. There are a variety of beautiful flowers surrounding the base of the statue. Free.
However, it was quite difficult to get to the statue as there were too many vehicles passing on the adjoining road. Not much to see around the statue.
Zhaoling
Well, Shenyang is also famous for hosting two tombs of the Qing emperors. One of them is Zhaoling, the second one is Fuling. Zhaoling is the tomb of the Huang Taiji – the second emperor of the Qing dynasty. The tomb is located in the Beiling Park. You’ll need to walk more than 1km in the park to get to the tomb. The long walk through the lush green park is indeed worth it. Entry fee – RMB 50.
The tomb looks like a white mound. In fact, the gate of the tomb is located in the wall and its closed for the public. You can’t actually get too close to the tomb, you can of course take photos from outside. The site is now a UNESCO world heritage site. Not many people here.
Fuling
Fuling/Dong Ling (清福陵/东陵 – qīngfú líng/Dōng líng) is the tomb of the first Qing emperor (Nu’erhachi -founder of the Qing dynasty). This is another UNESCO world heritage site in Shenyang. A visit to Fuling is highly recommended to the history lovers. RMB 50.
The architectural style of Zhaoling and Fuling are both Manchu style. No wonder, both the tombs look quite similar. Here is the photo (notice a gate in the wall)-
Liaoning Provincial Museum
If you like visiting museums, then this is the place to not give a miss. Although the museum is quite far from the downtown, it’s worthwhile to stop by. They have a very good collection of arts and crafts from Liaoning province and other parts of China. In fact, on a rainy day, you can come here for a day long trip. Baidu – 辽宁省博物馆, Liáoníng shěng bówùguǎn. Free entry.
Liaoning Science and Technology Museum
This museum is dedicated to displaying China’s science and technological developments.
The museum is located right beside the Liaoning Provincial Museum. So, you can plan a trip to visit both of them – and may be spend a full day. Lots of school children here. Free entry.
Shen-air Museum
This is a small museum displaying a timeline of China’s aircraft and missile developments. You’ll see a comparison of China and other country’s (particularly the USA) aircraft development programs. However, most of the displays are written in Chinese and it could be difficult to read them. RMB 20. Baidu : 沈飞航空博览园, Chén fēi hángkōng bólǎn yuan. Allow 30 minutes.
9/18 memorial Museum
The 9/18 memorial Museum depict the events that took place on 18 September 1931 in Shenyang when a bomb exploded and so many innocent lives were lost. The Japanese ruler blamed Chinese for the explosion and invaded the other parts of China.
Shenyang was the center of all action. The museum is located close to the site where the explosion took place. Free entry. Baidu – 沈阳九一八历史博物馆 (Shěnyáng jiǔyībā lìshǐ bówùguǎn).
Xinle Site Museum
This is a small open air museum displaying the evolution of human civilization (沈阳新乐遗址, Shěnyáng xīn yuè yízhǐ). The depictions are from the stone age – about a village that existed here nearly 7000 years ago. Now, the stone age village has been reconstructed. Allow 30 minutes. RMB 20. You should get down at Xīn yuè yízhǐ (新乐遗址) station and then take exit C. I really liked this place and the Xinle Site Museum is indeed one of the top things to do in Shenyang China.
Four Pagodas
Well, Shenyang has four pagodas (Buddhist temples) and you should not miss any of them. Each of the fours pagodas are very beautiful.
- North Pagoda (沈阳北塔, Shěnyáng Běitǎ)
- South Pagoda (沈阳南塔 – marked in Baidu map as- 南塔公园)
- East Pagoda (沈阳东塔 – marked in Baidu map as- 东塔园)
- West Pagoda (沈阳西塔, Shěnyáng Xītǎ)
As the names suggest, these pagodas are located in different parts of the city. Free entry to each of them. A 15-20 minute at each pagoda would be a good enough time.
Shenyang China nightlife
Sadly, Shenyang doesn’t have an impressive night nightlife scene. However, walking around the city wall (Fujinmen -抚近门, Fǔ jìn mén) is recommended. Also, there are some pick bars in Shenyang – you can find them using Jiu ba (酒吧, Jiǔbā) in Baidu. If you like Chinese food, do stop by the night markets.
night Markets in Shenyang China
There are indeed some interesting night markets in Shenyang and here I’ll list a few of them.
Zhong Jie
Just get down at the Zhong Jie (中街, subway station). The subway station is right below the Zhong Jie night market. This night market is highly recommended to eat authenticate Chinese food in Shenyang.
Taiyuan Jie
There are some nice food stalls around Taiyuan Jie (太原街) subway station. I had a mini pizza meal here- I’ll show you-
Beishichang
As mentioned earlier, the Beishichang market (Běi shìchǎng, 北市场) is close to the Huang temple. I was here in the day time and it was quite sunny out there. I didn’t see any food stall here.
Wuai Market
Shenyang’s Wuai market is considered to be one of the biggest wholesale markets in China.
However, during my visit the Wuai Market (沈阳五爱市场) looked rather not very clean. I think the market is still worth stopping by.
In summary, I think Shenyang is a beautiful city. If you’d like visiting historical places, exploring museums and eating delicious Chinese food, in all likelihood you’d love Shenyang. Do spend at least 3-4 days appreciating what Shenyang city has to offer.
If you have any question about the top things to do in Shenyang city or the travel attractions or simply about China tours, feel free to post in our forum so that others could also contribute and learn. For regular updates like us on Facebook, or follow on Twitter!
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Wish you a great time travelling to Shenyang China!
Cheers!
Last updated: Wednesday, August 29, 2018