Shenyang: the imperial palace of the Qing

Capital of the Qing Dynasty before the conquest of Beijing, Shenyang holds the only other Chinese imperial palace besides the Forbidden City.

The subway conveniently connects the major city attractions.

The Mukden Imperial Palace, UNESCO site, remains the only imperial residence surviving alongside the Forbidden City in Beijing, built by the early Qing sovereigns.

A few minutes away, the Fuling Royal Tombs, also UNESCO sites, house the burial of the Qing dynasty founder among ancient forests surrounding an artificial lake.

Continuing toward the center, one visits the Shenyang Museum, which recounts the city's industrial history as the cradle of Chinese heavy industry in the twentieth century, still a manufacturing hub today.

Toward evening, the Zhongjie district animates one of China's oldest commercial areas in the northeast.

The Palace of Mukden, built between sixteen twenty-five and sixteen thirty-six before the Qing conquered Beijing, blends Manchu, Mongol, and Han architectural elements in a unique imperial complex unmatched anywhere in China.

Shenyang, the industrial heart of Manchuria during Japanese occupation and later under communist China, remains today one of northeastern China's major economic and cultural centers.