Shenyang 沈阳市
Prefecture-level and sub-provincial city[1]
Clockwise from top: Shenyang Skyline, Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral, Mukden Incident Museum, Aerial view of Mukden Palace, Zhao Mausoleum, Dazheng Hall of Mukden Palace
Location of Shenyang within Liaoning
Shenyang Location of the city center within Liaoning Show map of Liaoning Shenyang Shenyang (Eastern China) Show map of Eastern China Shenyang Shenyang (China) Show map of China
Coordinates (Shenhe): 41°48′09″N 123°25′41″E / 41.80250°N 123.42806°E / 41.80250; 123.42806
Country	China
Province	Liaoning
Municipal seat	Hunnan District
County-level divisions	13
Government
• Type	Sub-provincial city
• Body	Shenyang Municipal People's Congress
• CCP Secretary	Zhang Lei
• Congress Chairman	Fu Zhongwei
• Mayor	Wang Xinwei
• CPPCC Chairman	Han Dongtai
Area
• Prefecture-level and sub-provincial city[1]	12,869 km2 (4,969 sq mi)
• Urban	3,658.2 km2 (1,412.4 sq mi)
• Metro	4,222.2 km2 (1,630.2 sq mi)
Elevation	55 m (180 ft)
Population  (2020)[2]
• Prefecture-level and sub-provincial city[1]	9,070,093
• Density	700/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
• Urban	7,885,142
• Urban density	2,200/km2 (5,600/sq mi)
• Metro	8,192,848
• Metro density	1,900/km2 (5,000/sq mi)
GDP[3]
• Prefecture-level and sub-provincial city	CN¥ 812 billion US$ 87 billion
• Per capita	CN¥ 88,519 US$ 14,050
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code	110000
Area code	24
ISO 3166 code	CN-LN-01
License plate prefixes	辽A
Climate	Dwa
Website	www.shenyang.gov.cn
Symbols
Flower	Rosa rugosa
Tree	Pinus tabuliformis

Shenyang
"Shenyang" in simplified (top) and traditional (bottom) Chinese characters
"Mukden" in Manchu script
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	沈阳
Traditional Chinese	瀋陽
Hanyu Pinyin	Shěnyángⓘ
Literal meaning	north bank of the Shen River
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Shěnyángⓘ Bopomofo ㄕㄣˇ   ㄧㄤˊ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Sheenyang Wade–Giles Shên3-yang2 IPA Wu Romanization Sen上-yan平 Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Sám-yèuhng Jyutping Sam2-joeng4 IPA Southern Min Hokkien POJ Sím-iông
Mukden
Chinese	盛京
Hanyu Pinyin	Shèngjīng
Postal	Mukden
Literal meaning	Prosperous
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Shèngjīng
Manchu name
Manchu script	ᠰᡳᠮᡳᠶᠠᠨ/ᠮᡠᡴ᠋ᡩᡝᠨ
Romanization	simiyan/mukden

This article contains Manchu text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Manchu alphabet.

Shenyang,^[a] formerly known as Fengtian^[b] or by its Manchu name Mukden^[c] is a sub-provincial city in north-central Liaoning, China. It is the provincial capital of Liaoning and the province's most populous city with a population of 9,070,093 as of the 2020 census,^[5] also making it the largest city in Northeast China by urban population, and the second-largest by metropolitan population behind Harbin.^[6] The Shenyang metropolitan area is one of the major megalopolises in China, with a population of over 23 million. The city's administrative region includes the ten metropolitan districts of Shenyang, the county-level city of Xinmin, and the counties of Kangping and Faku.

Shenyang has been controlled by numerous different states and peoples during its history. In the 14th century, the city came under the control of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), for whom it served as an important military stronghold. The 1621 Battle of Shen-Liao resulted in Shenyang briefly serving as the capital of the Jurchen Later Jin dynasty, the direct predecessor of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912).^[7] The 1905 Battle of Mukden took place south of Shenyang as part of the Russo-Japanese War. The subsequent Japanese victory allowed its annexation of the region west of the old city and the increase of Japanese influence in Shenyang. In 1931, the Mukden incident led to the Japanese invasion and occupation of the rest of Northeast China, and the establishment of the puppet state of Manchukuo. After the Japanese surrender in 1945 Shenyang remained a stronghold of the Kuomintang until its capture by the Communists in 1948 following the Liaoshen campaign.

Together with its surrounding cities, Shenyang is an important industrial center in China,^[8] and serves as the transportation and commercial hub of China's northeast—particularly involved in links with Japan, Russia, and Korea.^[9] A center of heavy industry in China since the 1930s, and the spearhead of the Chinese central government's Northeast Area Revitalization Plan,^[10] the city has been diversifying its industry, including expanding into the service sector. Growing industries include software, automotive and electronics. Shenyang is also a major city for scientific research and education in Northeast China. As of 2023^[update], it was listed among the top 125 cities by scientific output in the world, as tracked by the Nature Index.^[11] The city is home to several major universities, notably Northeastern University and Liaoning University, listed as prestigious universities in the Double First-Class Construction.

Name

Shenyang literally means "the yang side of the Shen River" and refers to the location of the Hun River (formerly called the Shen River, 瀋水; Shěn Shuǐ), on the southern side of the city. According to Chinese naming tradition, a river's north bank and a mountain's south slope are angled more towards direct sunlight and thus are considered the "sunny", or "yang", side.^[12]

History

Early history

Archaeological findings show that humans resided in present-day Shenyang as early as 8,000 years ago. The remains of the Xinle culture, a late neolithic period society over 6,800–7,200 years old,^[5] are located in a museum in the north part of Huanggu District. It is complemented by a recreated village on site.

The city now known as Shenyang was first established in about 300 BCE during the Warring States period by Yan general Qin Kai, who conquered the Liaodong region from Gojoseon.^[13] It was then named Hou City (侯城; Hóu Chéng). Around 350 years later, during the reign of Emperor Guangwu of Han, the city was sacked and burnt by the Donghu nomads and subsequently abandoned. The area of modern Shenyang was divided between two commanderies called Liaodong and Xuantu around 107 CE. Liaodong was seized by a Han governor in 189. Liaodong and Xuantu were briefly united under the Wei Dynasty and Jin Dynasty. The region was in disarray during the fourth century until the Koguryo occupied both commanderies in 404. They established the cities of Xuantucheng and Gaimoucheng in the region. The Sui dynasty recaptured the area and established a new Liaodong Commandery in what is now modern Shenyang. In 645, the Tang dynasty invaded Koguryo and captured Xuantucheng and Gaimoucheng. Soon after, Liaodong was administratively reorganized and enjoyed nearly 250 years of stability and development.^[14]

In 916, the Shenyang region was captured by the Liao dynasty and was known as Shen Prefecture (瀋州; Shěn Zhōu) until the end of Jin dynasty (who conquered the region in 1116). The area became known as the Shenyang Circuit (瀋陽路; Shěnyáng Lù) during the Yuan dynasty.^[15] After the fall of the Yuan, Shenyang came under the control of the Ming dynasty, and it was designated a "guard town" (militarized settlement) named Shenyang Central Guard (瀋陽中衛; Shěnyáng Zhōngwèi). During the Ming Dynasty, Shenyang became one of the most important Chinese military strongholds beyond the Shanhai Pass.

Manchu period

In 1625, the Jurchen leader Nurhaci captured Shenyang from the Ming and decided to relocate his entire administrative infrastructures to the city, which was then called Simiyan hoton (Manchu: ᠰᡳᠮᡳᠶᠠᠨ
ᡥᠣᡨᠣᠨ) in the Manchu language.^[7] The official name was changed to Mukden (Manchu: ᠮᡠᡴ᠋ᡩᡝᠨ), or Shengjing (盛京; Shèng Jīng; 'rising capital') in 1634. The new name derives from the Manchu word, mukdembi (Manchu: ᠮᡠᡴ᠋ᡩᡝᠮᠪᡳ), meaning "to rise" as reflected also by its Han Chinese name.^[16] Under Nurhaci's orders, the Imperial Palace was constructed in 1626, symbolizing the city's emerging status as the Jurchen political center. The palace featured more than 300 ostentatiously decorated rooms and 20 gardens as a symbol of power and grandeur.^[16]

After the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644 and the routing of the Shun army in the Battle of Shanhai Pass just a day later, the Manchus successfully entered the Shanhai Pass to establish the Qing dynasty in China proper. The capital was subsequently relocated from Shenyang to Beijing. However, Shenyang retained considerable importance as the secondary capital and spiritual home of the Qing dynasty through the centuries.^[16] Treasures of the royal house were kept at its palaces, and the tombs of the early Qing rulers were once among the most famous monuments in China. In 1657, Fengtian Prefecture (奉天府; Fèngtiān Fǔ; Manchu: ᠠᠪᡴᠠᡳ
ᡳᠮᡳᠶᠠᠩᡤᠠ
ᡶᡠ, Möllendorff: abkai imiyangga fu, Abkai: abkai imiyangga fu or Manchu: ᡶᡠᠩ ᡨᡳᠶᠠᠨ, Möllendorff: fung tiyian, Abkai: fung tiyian) was established in the Shenyang area, and Fengtian (lit. 'mandated by Heaven') was sometimes used synonymously with Shenyang/Mukden.^[17]

Russian and Japanese influence

After the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Japan coerced the annexation of the Liaodong Peninsula with the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895, but had to give it up due to diplomatic pressure from the 1895 Triple Intervention. In the aftermath of the Japanese threat, Qing viceroy Li Hongzhang visited Moscow in 1896 and signed a secret treaty with Russian foreign minister Aleksey Lobanov-Rostovsky, allowing the Russian Empire to build a Russian-gauge railway through Manchuria, which opened the door towards further Russian expansionism in the form of another lease convention in 1898, effectively allowing Russia to annex Port Arthur in all but name. However, after the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, Russian forces used that anti-foreigner insurgency as a pretext to formally invade and occupy most of Manchuria, and Mukden became a Russian stronghold in the Far East with the building of what would become the South Manchurian Railway - from Harbin via Mukden to Dalny.^[18][19]

During the Russo-Japanese War (1904—1905), Mukden became the site of the Battle of Mukden from February 19 to March 10, 1905.^[20][21] Involving more than 600,000 combat participants, it was the largest battle since the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, and also the largest modern-era battle ever fought in Asia before World War II.^[22] Following this Japanese victory, Mukden became one of the chief bases of Japanese presence and economic expansion into southern Manchuria. It also became the government seat of Fengtian province in 1910.^[23] Mukden became one of the main epicenters of the Manchurian plague (1910—1911), which ultimately resulted in approximately 60,000 deaths.^[24]

Warlord Era and Japanese occupation

In 1914, the city changed back to its old name Shenyang,^[25] but continued to be known as Mukden (sometimes spelled Moukden) in some English sources and in Japan through much of the first half of 20th century. The postmark of the Chinese postal administration kept the spelling "MOUKDEN/奉天" for usage on international mails until the late 1920s. After that, a Chinese–Manchurian bilingual type "SHENYANG (MUKDEN)/瀋陽 (奉天)" datestamp was used until 1933.

In the early 20th century, Shenyang began expanding out of its old city walls. The Shenyang Railway Station on the South Manchurian Railway and the Shenyang North Railway Station on the Jingfeng Railway, both west of the old city, became the new commercial centers of Shenyang.^[26] In the 1920s, Mukden was the capital of the warlord Zhang Zuolin, who was later assassinated when his train was blown up on 4 June 1928^[27] at a Japanese-guarded railway bridge.^[28] At the time, several factories were built by Zhang to manufacture ammunition in the northern and eastern suburbs. These factories laid the foundation for Shenyang's industrial development.^[29]

At around 10:20 pm on 18 September 1931, a small quantity of dynamite was detonated close to a railway line near Mukden owned by the Japanese South Manchuria Railway Company by Kwantung Army Lt. Kawamoto Suemori.^[30][31] The Imperial Japanese Army, accusing Chinese dissidents of the act, then used the false flag explosion as pretext to launch a full attack on Mukden, and captured the city the following morning (September 19).^[31][32] After the Mukden Incident, the Japanese further invaded and occupied the rest of Northeast China, and created the puppet state of Manchukuo with the deposed emperor Aisin Gioro Puyi as the figurehead.^[33] During the Manchukuo era (1932–1945), the city was again called Fengtian (and Mukden in English),^[34] and was developed by the Japanese into a center of heavy industry.^[34][35] Japan was able to exploit resources in Manchuria using the extensive network of railroads.^[36] For example, vast expanses of Manchurian forest were chopped down.^[37] The development of Shenyang was also unbalanced in this period; municipal facilities were mostly located in Japanese residential areas, while Chinese residential areas had poor living conditions.^[35]

Post-World War II

Under Marshal of the Soviet Union Aleksandr Vasilevsky, the Far East Command^[38] of the Red Army occupied Manchuria in early August 1945 following the surrender of Japan.^[39] On 16 August 1945, Manchurian Emperor Puyi was captured in Shenyang Airport by the Soviets while he was in an airplane fleeing to Japan.^[40] On 20 August, Soviet troops captured Shenyang. British and US reports indicate that the Soviet troops that occupied Northeast China and Eastern Inner Mongolia region looted and terrorized the people of Shenyang, and were not discouraged by Soviet occupation authorities from "three days of rape and pillage".^{[41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49]}

The Soviets were replaced by the Republic of China Army, who were flown in on U.S. transport planes.^[50] During the Chinese Civil War, Shenyang remained a Kuomintang stronghold supplied by Claire Lee Chennault's Civil Air Transport from 1946 to 1948, although the Chinese Communist Party controlled the surrounding countryside.^[51][52] By February 1948 the city was suffering from drastic shortages, and by the summer 140,000 refugees per month were fleeing. It was captured by the People's Liberation Army on October 30, 1948, following a series of offensives led by Lin Biao known as the Liaoshen Campaign.^[51][47][53]

Over the past 200 years or so, Shenyang managed to grow and increase its industrial might during consecutive wars with Russia and Japan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Second World War, and China's Civil War (Shenyang became the main battleground between the Communists and Nationalists).

21st century

Directed by state efforts to reduce pollution and close unprofitable industry, the city has undergone deindustrialization, with the shutdown of large plants.^[54][55] Most notably, a large 1930s smelter in the central city was closed in 2000.^[56][57] The redevelopment of former polluted industrial land has resulted in gentrification.^[58]

Old City

The old city of Shenyang resided almost entirely within the modern day Shenhe District, and used to have two city walls.^[59]

Situated roughly within the area bounded by the four "Shuncheng" (顺城; 'along the city') roads/streets in Shenhe District, the (now-demolished) square-shaped inner city wall marked the bounds of ancient Shenyang. The earliest wall was built in 926 during early Liao dynasty to settle Northern Song civilians the Khitans abducted from raids to use as slave labourers, and was then made of rammed earth because the city was merely a small settlement at the time (historically the administrative center of the Liaodong region was at Liaoyang). However, in 1368, Hongwu Emperor of the newly founded Ming dynasty ordered a new regional military command—the Liaodong Regional Military Commission (遼東都指揮使司)—to be established, and Shenyang was made a prominent regional "guard town" (衛所). In 1388, Min Zhong (閔忠), the newly appointed city commissioner of the Shenyang Central Guard, wrote to Hongwu Emperor immediately upon his tenure requesting permission to upgrade the city wall, and the old wall was made taller and thoroughly reinforced with overlaid bricks. According to History of Ming, the reconstructed Ming-era wall was 2.5 zhàng (8 metres or 26 feet) tall, more than 1 zhàng (3.2 metres or 10.5 feet) wide at the top, and 9 li and 30 bu (about 5.2 kilometres or 3.2 miles) long. It has two layers of moats dug outside, each being 3 zhàng (9.6 metres or 31.5 feet) wide and 8 chi (2.56 metres or 8 feet 4.8 inches) deep, fed with water from the Little Shen River (the present day South Canal). There were four city gates, each at the center of one side, connected by two main roads that intersected at Central Temple of the city's center in a "+" fashion.

This Ming wall was heavily damaged in 1625 when the Manchus laid siege and captured the city, with only the north wall and gate tower (which had undergone reinforcing reconstructions in 1545 under the orders of Jiajing Emperor) remained intact. The Manchu leader Nurhachi however saw the city's strategic value and decided to formally relocate his Later Jin capital from Liaoyang to Shenyang, and ordered the wall to be rebuilt. According to Annals of Mukden (盛京通志), the new city wall was a standard black brick wall standing at a height of 3.5 zhàng (about 12.5 metres or 41.0 feet), a width of 1.8 zhàng (about 6.4 metres or 21.0 feet) and a total length of 9 li and 332 bu (about 6.4 kilometres or 4.0 miles), complete with 12 towers (8 gates and 4 corners) and a widened 14.5-zhàng (about 52-metre or 171-foot) moat. The city gates were increased from four to eight, though the old Ming-era north gate tower was preserved but sealed shut, later known as the "Ninth Gate" (九門).

The outer city wall, called the "peripheral wall" (邊牆; Biān Qiáng) or "pass wall" (關牆; Guān Qiáng), was actually a rammed earth rampart built in 1680 to expand the urban area outside the inner city. It was almost round in shape, standing at a height of 7.5 chi (around 2.7 metres or 8 feet 10.3 inches) and an overall length of 32 li and 24 bu (about 20.7 kilometres or 12.9 miles), and also had eight towerless gates known as the "peripheral gates" (邊門; Biān Mén). The corresponding inner and outer gates were linked by roads that intersected within the inner city in a "#" pattern around the Mukden Palace.

Nearly all of these city walls and gates were demolished after 1949. Two gates and one corner tower of the inner wall were rebuilt during the 1990s. There had, however, been proposals to rebuild the other gates and towers in preparation to the 12th National Games in 2013.

Around 2.5 km (1.6 mi) outside Shenyang's former outer wall, there were four pagodas each located within an associated Tibetan Buddhist temple, namely the East Pagoda in Yongguang Temple (永光寺), the South Pagoda in Guangci Temple (廣慈寺), the West Pagoda in Yanshou Temple (延壽寺) and the North Pagoda in Falun Temple (法輪寺). They were built in 1643 and completed in 1645. The four pagodas are identical white Buddha-stupas as tall as 26 m (85 ft). Nowadays only the temple for the North Pagoda is well preserved, the East and South has only the pagodas left, and the temple for the West Pagoda was rebuilt in 1998.

Both the Temple of Heaven and Temple of Earth were also to be found in the old city during the Qing dynasty. They were smaller replicas of Beijing's counterparts. Neither exists today.

Geography

Shenyang ranges in latitude from 41° 11' to 43° 02' N and in longitude from 122° 25' to 123° 48' E, and is located in the central part of Liaoning province. The western parts of the city's administrative area are located on the alluvial plain of the Liao River system, while the eastern part consists of the hinterlands of the Changbai Mountains, and is covered with forests.^[60] The highest point in Shenyang is 414 m (1,358 ft) above sea level and the lowest point only 7 m (23 ft).^[61] The average elevation of the urban area is 45 m (148 ft).^[62]

The city's main urban area is located to the north of Hun River, formerly the largest tributary of the Liao River proper and often locally referred as the city's "mother river". The central urban area is surrounded by three artificial rivers — respectively the South Canal (南运河) from the south and southeast, the Xinkai River (新开河, formerly the North Canal) from the north and northeast, and the Weigong River (卫工河, formerly the Weigong Nullah) from the west, all interconnected by channels as a continuous waterway. The South Canal in particular, famous for the series of linear parks and gardens along it, was canalized from the old course of the Wanquan River (萬泉河; 'ten thousand springs river'), historically also called the Little Shen River (小瀋水) or Wuli River (五里河; 'five-li river'), which was a principal water source for the old city.^[63] These are reinforced on the peripheries by smaller rivers such as Xi River (细河), Puhe River (蒲河) and Mantang River (满堂河), and drains into the Hun River at three different locations on the southeast, due south and southwest side of the city. There was also previously another canal on the east side called Huishan Nullah (辉山明渠) that drains into Xinkai River's lower section, but is now no longer existent due to land reclamation from urban constructions.

Environment

Shenyang has many parks, among the most famous are the 14.5 km (9.0 mi) South Canal Linear Parks (南运河带状公园) situated along the homonymous river traversing the southern parts of Dadong, Shenhe and Heping Districts. It comprises 6 large parks and 18 riverside gardens covering an area of approximately 1,400,000 m² (350 acres), with exotic variety of vegetations such as rose, apricot, bladder cherry, honeylocust, natal lily, scarlet sage, morning glory and black-eyed-Susan, and extensive greenspaces of peach, pear, crabapples, ginkgos, weeping willows, pines and black locusts.^[63] It is the largest stretch of vegetated urban open space in Shenyang, contributing significantly to the city's 40-percent "greening ratio", and was instrumental in the city being awarded the "national forest city" title in 2005.

According to the Shenyang Environmental Protection Bureau, winter usage of coal by boiler stations for hydronic district heating is the source of 30 percent of the air pollution in Shenyang. Half of the 16 million metric tons of coal consumed by the city during the winter of 2013–2014 were used for heating. Other major factors include dust from construction sites (20 percent), vehicle exhaust (20 percent), industrial emissions (10 percent) and extraterritorial dust (20 percent, mostly yellow dust from Gobi Desert). However, air quality was described by the Bureau as "slowly improving".^[64]

Climate