Shenyang

Shenyang ( Chinese 瀋陽市 / 沈阳市 , pinyin Shenyang Shì ) is located in the northeast of the People's Republic of China and is the capital of the province of Liaoning .

It is the cultural and economic center of northeast China . In European literature, the city is still under the original name Mukden ( Manchurian :ᠮᡠᡩᡝᠨ) known as the capital of Manchuria . The city's previous names were Shengjing (盛京) and Fengtian (奉天).

geography

Shenyang is located in the northeast of the People's Republic of China , in the south of the fertile Manchurian Plain on the Hun He River , a tributary of the Liao He , which flows into the Liaodong Gulf of the Yellow Sea about 170 km from the city .

For a long time the older city was only on the right north bank of the river, but for a few years and the construction of further bridges, the rapidly growing community has also occupied the left bank of the river in the south. The space that the expansive city needs is available on large areas that are still used for agriculture today.

Administrative structure

At the county level, the sub-provincial city of Shenyang was made up of ten districts , two districts and one urban district as of the end of 2018 . These are:

Shenhe District ( 瀋河區 / 沈河区 );
Huanggu District ( 皇姑區 / 皇姑区 );
District Heping ( 和平區 / 和平区 );
Dadong District ( 大東區 / 大东区 );
Tiexi District ( 鐵西區 / 铁西区 );
District Sujiatun ( 蘇家屯區 / 苏家屯区 );
Hunnan District ( 渾南區 / 浑南区 );
Liaozhong District ( 遼中區 / 辽中区 );
Shenbei New District ( 沈北新區 / 沈北新区 );
Yuhong District ( 于洪區 / 于洪区 );
Faku district ( 法庫縣 / 法库县 );
Circuit Kangping ( 康平縣 / 康平县 );
Xinmin City ( 新民市 )

history

The city was founded around 2300 years ago. The place only gained supraregional importance when the Manchu rulers established political power in northeast China. From 1625 to 1644 Shenyang was the capital of the Manchurian state under the name Mukden ( 奉天 , Fèngtiān ) . With the further spread of power over large parts of the Chinese heartland, the seat of government was moved to Beijing in 1644 . That is why the only imperial palace ( 故宫 , Gùgōng ) in China outside the Forbidden City in Beijing is in Shenyang . It was started by Nurhachi (1559-1626) and completed by his son Huang Tai Chi (1592-1643). From here the Manchurian Qing dynasty conquered China and ruled it until the end of the empire in 1911. The first emperors of the Qing dynasty are buried in important tombs around Shenyang.

In the Russo-Japanese War ended in one of the largest battles of the war on March 10, 1905 the city was captured by the Japanese.

In 1931 the Mukden incident occurred here , which triggered the Manchurian crisis , and as a result of which Manchuria was occupied by Japan and the vassal state of Manchukuo was founded. He was hated by the Chinese and went under with the surrender of Japan in 1945.

Shenyang is the southern entry into the “rusty zone” of northeast China, which had been feared for decades and which offered little quality of life due to environmentally destructive mining, polluting iron and steel production and outdated coal-fired power stations. This zone, which extends to Harbin, has been in the focus of the central government for several years. The first successes can be observed: the formerly unspeakably polluted country and local roads have been relieved by the new motorway network, and modern filter technologies are slowly being used to detoxify the particularly sulphurous hard coal exhaust gases.

Population development of the agglomeration according to the UN

year	population
1950	2,168,000
1960	2,699,000
1970	3,156,000
1980	3,418,000
1990	3,771,000
2000	4,737,000
2010	5,849,000
2017	6,777,000

Sights, leisure and sports

In a ranking of cities according to their quality of life, Shenyang ranked 157th out of 231 cities worldwide in 2018. The quality of life was thus lower than in Chinese cities such as Beijing (place: 119), Shanghai (place: 103) or Nanjing (place: 140), but higher than in Jilin (place: 170).

Shenyang has various tourist attractions. The most visited is certainly the aforementioned Imperial Palace, (故宫), which was a smaller forerunner of the better-known Beijing Forbidden City and a palace of the Manchur rulers. The complex was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2004 as part of the imperial palaces of the Ming and Qing dynasties .

There are also several imperial tombs, two of which are in the urban area. Dongling, Nurhachi's tomb , is to the east of the city, Beiling, Huang Taiji's tomb , is to the north - both in the middle of large parks; Beiling Park is about the size of Central Park in New York City with over 350 hectares .

Also worth seeing are the four pagodas , which are equally spaced from the Forbidden City in the four cardinal directions. The only one of these pagodas that survived the destruction of the Great Cultural Revolution is the Northern Pagoda ( 北塔 ). The others were faithfully reconstructed after the end of the Cultural Revolution.

Since May 2006 the Bird Island Park ( 鳥島 / 鸟岛 ) east of Shenyang with a sea aquarium and the International Garden Exhibition (IGA) can be visited. The IGA has u. a. to offer an interesting collection of gardens that present the most diverse horticultural traditions of the Chinese provinces in a rich variety. In recent years, the city administration has strengthened the priority of planting roadside greenery on the motorway rings as well as new park and green areas in the river and canal bank areas in order to counteract the high level of pollution from industrial and traffic emissions. Shenyang has been named a "National Model City for Environmental Protection" and can therefore fall back on support from Beijing.

Panorama of Shenyang

In the long winter, winter sports are possible in the Qipanshan Mountains ( 棋盤山風景區 / 棋盘山风景区 ), about 30 km east of Shenyang . The wide, moderately steep ski slopes are well suited for beginners.

There is also a safari park in the Qipanshan Mountains , where it is possible to drive your own car through outdoor enclosures with tigers, lions, bears and other large animals. In addition, a bus drives tourists through the outdoor enclosure. Recently an ice sculpture festival ( 冰燈節 / 冰灯节 ) similar to the famous ice sculpture festival in Harbin has also been held every winter in Shenyang .

Due to its economic prosperity, Shenyang is developing more and more into a regional cultural center with a growing multicultural scene. In the evening it is mainly huge karaoke bars, but also some discos and bars in western style that attract a large audience.

Shenyang hosted some of the 2008 Summer Olympics soccer games . For this purpose, a new multi-purpose stadium with an open roof for 60,000 spectators was built in the Shenyang Olympic Stadium . It is located in the south and forms the center of a spacious urbanization that, with its wide streets and feeders, obviously wants to overtake US models.

The tallest building in the city was for a long time the Shenyang TV tower , which was replaced by the 384-meter-high Forum 66 office building in 2014 .

Shopping centers

Well-known shopping centers in the city are the pedestrian zone Zhongjie ( 中街 ) north near the Forbidden City and the pedestrian zone Taiyuanjie ( 太原街 ) not far from the train station ( 瀋陽站 / 沈阳站 ). Further megamalls are in the planning stage. For an inner-city mall, an only 18-year-old stadium was demolished because land prices in the city skyrocketed.

kitchen

A well-known specialty of Shenyang is the hearty regional cuisine of the northeast ( 東北菜 / 东北菜 ), especially the northeast Chinese dumplings served at “Laobian Jiaozi” ( 老邊餃子 / 老边饺子 ) in the Zhongjie (see above). Restaurants that offer the more spicy Sichuan cuisine or even Muslim cuisine can also be found in the city.

International community

Shenyang is the seat of the consulates general of Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, North Korea and the USA. The International Club Shenyang is an organization of expatriates living in Shenyang. A strong Korean minority lives in the districts around the western pagoda ( 西塔 ) in particular .

Economy, expansion plans

Shenyang calls itself “A city full of vitality” in a self-promotion. This is mainly due to the unusually diverse economy by Chinese standards. There are three major fields: chemical industry, machine and vehicle construction and high-tech. The chemical industry is based on the abundant coal and ore deposits in the province; chemical primary products are mainly produced and shipped across the country by rail. Mechanical engineering includes tractors, locomotives, machine tools, turbines and steel structures such as bridges, cranes and port facilities. Another not insignificant production is the manufacture of military aircraft (e.g. the Shenyang J-8 fighter aircraft, which was further developed from the MIG ), as well as rockets and equipment for the Chinese space projects. The automotive industry with its supplier industry is represented here, as is wagon construction. Food production has been preserved from light industry. A special state subsidy receives z. Currently the high-tech industry. In the south of Shenyang, a large area is specially designated as a high-tech zone in which software production is a focus. Here get z. For example, Chinese scientists and engineers returning from Western countries have financial incentives and excellent working conditions.

The economic activities are rounded off by an intensified exhibition policy. Shenyang has two medium-sized exhibition centers, one for the presentation of the provincial economy and one for changing thematic exhibitions, e.g. B. China and South Korea. In any case, the future-oriented transformation of Shenyang from a gray industrial city into a modern economic metropolis is always the focus.

In April 2010, the Chinese State Council adopted a regional development strategy for Shenyang, according to which Shenyang is to be formed into a metropolitan region with the surrounding seven other large cities. By expanding the transport network, each of the cities should be accessible from Shenyang within an hour.

According to a study from 2014, Shenyang has a gross domestic product of 189.3 billion US dollars in purchasing power parity . In the ranking of the economically strongest metropolitan regions worldwide, the city took 59th place. The GDP per capita is $ 26,020 (PPP).

traffic

Old tram

Shenyang is the traffic junction of northeast China. This is where the rail connections from the whole of Northeast China come together, namely the Shenyang- Harbin , Shenyang- Dalian , Shenyang- Dandong and Shenyang- Beijing routes . Shenyang is served by the Beijing- Shenyang High-Speed Railway , the Harbin-Dalian High-Speed Railway and the Shenyang-Dandong Railway.

At the same time, the highways to Harbin , Beijing (Shenbei Expressway) and Dalian (Shenda Expressway) converge in Shenyang .

Shenyang owns the Shenyang Taoxian Airport in the extreme southeast of the city , which in addition to all important domestic Chinese destinations also offers international flights to Japan , North and South Korea , Russia , the USA and Germany (Frankfurt).

The metro Shenyang began the operation on her first line in 2010. It includes 2,019 per summer three lines. Further lines are under construction or planning.

So far, numerous bus lines have served public transport at high speeds, but these buses are often overcrowded and often get stuck in traffic jams. Bus rides cost 1 yuan , air-conditioned in summer buses 2 yuan .

As in many large Chinese cities, individual traffic is very high, and long traffic jams occur at peak times. To counteract this, several elevated roads are currently being built, including Wu Ai Street, which will then be connected directly to Shenyang's main street Qing Nian Da Jie by means of a bridge over the river. The elevated streets of the second ring road and Dongling Street to the east have already been completed.

education

As the economic center of northeast China, Shenyang has also developed into the region's university center. The University of Northeast China is supplemented by a technical university and specialized universities for energy, finance and economics, medicine, music (former student: pianist Lang Lang ) and art. As everywhere in China, the scarce university places are in great demand and high school students have to pass a three-day selection test.

Personalities

Sons and daughters

Alexander A. Prashnowsky (1921–2015), geologist and geochemist
Seiji Ozawa (* 1935 in Shenyang, Manchukuo (today People's Republic of China)), world-famous Japanese conductor and composer, 2002–2010 music director of the Vienna State Opera
Hisashi Igawa (* 1936 in Shenyang, Manchukuo (now People's Republic of China)), Japanese actor
Gao E (* 1962), marksman
Gong Li (born 1965), actress
Li Yuwei (* 1965), marksman
Yo Kan (* 1978), Japanese table tennis player
Zheng Zhi (* 1980), soccer player
Lang Lang (* 1982), pianist
Yiqi Wang (* 1982), pianist and founder of the Jade Trio
Yan Ni (* 1987), Chinese volleyball player
Sena (大笑) (* 1994), singer and rapper

Twin cities

Since June 2019, Shenyang City has partnerships with a total of 21 cities. There are three city partnerships with Russia and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and two each with Japan and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Japan Sapporo , Japan (since November 1980)
Japan Kawasaki (Kanagawa) , Japan (since August 1981)
Germany Düsseldorf , Germany (since September 1984)
Italy Turin , Italy (since February 1985)
United States Chicago , United States (since September 1985)
Russia Irkutsk , Russia (since August 1992)
Philippines Quezon City , Philippines (since May 1993)
Mexico Monterrey , United Mexican States (since October 1993)
Israel Ramat Gan , Israel (since November 1993)
Korea South Seongnam , Republic of Korea (since August 1998)
Cameroon Yaounde , Cameroon (since December 1998)
Greece Thessaloniki , Greece (since July 2005)
Poland Katowice , Poland (since June 2007)
Russia Ufa , Russia (since September 2011)
Russia Novosibirsk , Russia (since May 2013)
Korea South Daejeon , Republic of Korea (since July 2013)
Argentina La Plata , Argentina (since May 2014)
Korea South Incheon , Republic of Korea (since July 2014)
United Kingdom Belfast , United Kingdom (since May 2016)
Uruguay Florida , Uruguay (since June 2017)
United Kingdom Glasgow , United Kingdom (since June 2019)

gallery

Gate to the Qingning Palace
Qingning Palace
Chongzheng Hall
Chongzheng Hall
Shenyang satellite image
Shenyang Railway Station
South entrance to Beiling Park

Climate table

Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Shenyang

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C )	-5.2	-1.7	6.4	16.0	23.2	27.1	29.0	28.3	23.5	15.9	5.7	-2.2	O	13.9
Min. Temperature (° C)	-16.6	-13.1	-4.4	3.8	11.1	16.6	20.4	19.3	11.9	4.1	-4.2	-12.5	O	3.1

Precipitation ( mm )	7th	8th	16	43	55	87	167	157	77	42	17th	9	Σ	685

Hours of sunshine ( h / d )	5.4	6.4	7.5	8.0	8.6	8.2	6.9	7.2	7.9	7.0	5.5	4.9	O	7th

Rainy days ( d )	2	2	3	5	6th	8th	11	9	6th	4th	3	2	Σ	61

Humidity ( % )	64	58	54	53	55	68	78	79	72	68	65	64	O	64.9

Source: wetterkontor.de

Individual evidence

^ [Liaoning Statistical Yearbook 2010]

↑ China A2Z ( Memento of the original from June 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ HKTDC
↑ 鹤城街道. State Statistics Office of the People's Republic of China , accessed June 11, 2019 (Chinese).
↑ Glass plate negative collection by two German doctors on this in the University Archives in Düsseldorf, for more details see the Lemma
↑ World Urbanization Prospects - Population Division - United Nations. Retrieved July 23, 2018 .
↑ Mercer's 2018 Quality of Living Rankings. Retrieved August 18, 2018 .
↑ UNESCO World Heritage Center: Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang. Accessed August 7, 2017 .
↑ China Liaoning Business Guide ( Memento of the original from July 5, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
^ Alan Berube, Jesus Leal Trujillo, Tao Ran, and Joseph Parilla: Global Metro Monitor . In: Brookings . January 22, 2015 ( brookings.edu [accessed July 19, 2018]).
^ Sister Cities. Shenyang Municipal Government, February 2, 2019, accessed August 18, 2019 (English, outdated list).
↑ ^a ^b Liang Xinyue: Shenyang and Glasgow established sister city relationship. In: Shenyang Municipal Government. Shenyang Daily, June 6, 2019, accessed August 18, 2019 .
↑ Number of international sister cities of Shenyang increased to 20. In: Shenyang Municipal Government. Foreign Affairs Office of Shenyang Municipal People's Government, March 8, 2018, accessed August 18, 2019 .

Web links

Commons : Shenyang - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

[1] [Liaoning Statistical Yearbook 2010]