Tags
Bullet train, Liaoning Province, Mukden Palace, Shenhe District, Shenyang, Shenyang Imperial Palace
Visit to The Mukden Palace
It’s been a while since I have written about my travels to China in 2008 so thought I would write a post about my travels in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning Province located in the North East of China, bordering the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or as most of us call it North Korea.
My friend Jon and I arrived in Shenyang from Beijing by fast train and having travelled in business class we enjoyed our 303 km/h four-hour trip enormously with our complimentary snack pack, hot tea and bottled water, a blanket and slippers.
The Mukden Palace was the former imperial palace of the early Manchu-led Qing dynasty and was built in 1625. After our breakfast on our second day, we departed our hotel after meeting our local guide and arrived at the palace early which was a great idea as by the time we departed there were many other visitors (including the usual Chinese tour guide with loud speaker!!!). The palace is located in the centre of Shenyang and is located next to modern high-rise buildings.Construction of the palace began in 1625 by the founder of the Qing dynasty and was built to resemble the Forbidden City in Beijing but it also exhibits styles of Manchu and Tibet with its glamorous roofs and exquisite carvings.The first three Qing emperors lived in the palace from 1625 to 1644 and after the Qing dynasty replaced the Ming dynasty in 1644 in Beijing, the Mukden Palace lost its status as the official residence of the Qing emperor and became a regional palace. In 1955 it was converted into the Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum. Then in 2004 it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as an extension of the Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties or as most people refer to it, the Forbidden City in Beijing.The palace exhibits large collections of jade and ivory (shame!!), furniture, musical instruments and paintings. The stone grounds are vast and trees and plants are extremely well maintained so it was lovely to spend a bit of time before the crowds arrived, walking around and enjoying the blue skies of Shenyang.And then my favourite things to photograph; doorways!By this time we were ready to head off to our next destination, the residence of the warlord of Manchuria (but more on that later).
Gary said:
You have a remarkable memory for your travels. Beautiful photographs.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thank you very much Gary. I use my itineraries to help so it’s not all my memory although some is.
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Len Kagami said:
It looks a lot like the Forgotten Palace, but smaller in term of scale and the crowd is much thinner 🙂 I always like the colour contrast between the red walls, the yellow/green roofs.
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Lignum Draco said:
Thanks for these stirrings of long forgotten memories. I visited Shenyang and Harbin back in 1979. Barely remember it, but the architecture in your photos looks vaguely familiar to me.
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Little Miss Traveller said:
What a fascinating trip, thank you for sharing your memories Sue.
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JohnRH said:
Fascinating photos and commentary, but there must be something wrong with my display. There is no food!!! 😉
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Amy said:
Beautiful photos of this magnificent place! Thank you for sharing your fast train experience.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thank you again for stopping by Amy.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Ha ha John. You are funny. I am sitting here in my car laughing At your comment.
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JohnRH said:
😱🤪😎😝
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