LIAONING
PROVINCE

Shenyang (Mukden)
Formerly known to foreigners as Mukden, Shenyang is heavily industrialised and one of the largest cities in northeast China. It is now the capital of Liaoning Province, but was once the capital of the Manchurian kingdom which, in the seventeenth century, invaded and conquered China. In the late nineteenth century, with foreign powers vying for 'spheres of influence' in many parts of the country, Russia acquired the rights to build the Trans-Siberian Railway through Manchuria, and both Japan and the Russians began a tussle for supremacy in the region which lasted right through to 1945.

In 1931, Japan engineered the so-called 'Mukden Inddent' (when a bomb exploded on the track of the South Manchurian Railway) as a pretext to seize the whole of northeast China, and then established the puppet-state of Manchukuo with the former Chinese emperor, Henry Pu Yi, as its nominal ruler. After the civil war in the late 1940s which resulted in the Communist victory, the Soviets returned in force as advisers and helped rebuild Shenyang's industrial base, which is now one of the most important in the country. Factories include a military aircraft plant which produces China's fighter aircraft, based on Soviet designs. The city's population is now over three million.

During the latter part of the Maoist era, Shenyang became an important 'base' for the radical faction in Chinese politics. Mao Yuanxin, Mao's nephew, was nominally Deputy Secretary of the Liaoning Province Party Committee, but in reality appears to have been the effective overlord of the northeast region during the early 1970S. He was seized by the moderate faction soon after the so-called 'Gang of Four' radicals were taken into custody in Peking in October 1976, and he has been languishing in jail ever since. At the time of the 'Gang of Four' show-trial in late 1980, the official press said Mao's nephew would soon be put on trial in Shenyang, but by early 1983, the trial had still not been held, for some obscure political reason. The commander of the Shenyang military units - that is, of northeast China - is General Li Desheng, a powerful, shadowy figure who is the only regional military commander from the Maoist era to have re tamed his post.

Shenyang is probably most famous, however, for its heavy air pollution, its greyness and its grim forbidding character, particularly in the winter which is Siberian. A number of British students used to be sent to Shenyang University each year but, in 1980, a group quickly dubbed the 'Shenyang Fifteen' refused to go.

The majority of Western visitors to the city are now probably businessmen, most of whom spend as little time there as they possibly can. However, there are some interesting sites to be viewed, mostly relics of the former Manchu kingdom in the days before the successful raid south. The MANCHU IMPERIAL PALACE, built soon after the Manchus made Shenyang their capital in 1625, is to the east of the present city centre, on Zhongyang Lu. The palace was built as a copy of the Forbidden City in Peking, although it is on a much more modest scale. It is now a museum. (Take a No.13 trolley from the railway station, get offat the ninth stop, and the palace is on the left.)

The last two Manchu leaders, who built up their state to the point where it could threaten the entire Chinese empire, are buried in separate tombs to the north and east of the city. Abukai, who proclaimed the Qing (Manchu) dynasty, but died in 1643, one year before Peking was taken, is buried at BEILING (north tomb), now surrounded by a park of the same name (take a No.10 bus from the station). His father, Nurhachi, is buried in DONGLING (east tomb), which is also a park (take a No. i8 bus from near the palace museum).

The main downtown area of Shenyang is just to the east of the railway station. Restaurants include the Shaoyuan on Zhonghua Lu, and the main local dish is so-called 'Mongolian' hot-pot, which is, in fact, eaten all over northeast Asia in one form or another. A small burner is placed on the table with boiling water on top into which you put slivers of meat, vegetables and other edibles to cook. Shuangyan-grou - mutton hot-pot - is the most common. The local Friendship Store is in the People's Department Store (12 Zhongshan Yi Lu).

How to get there and where to stay
Shenyang is connected to Peking by air, and is a 12-hour train joumey from the capital. The main hotel used to be a beautiful old place called the Liaoning Guesthouse near the station, but foreigners now have to stay at the Liaoning Mansions (Huanghe da Jie) in the north of the city (Liaoning Daxia; take a No.6 trolley from the railway station).

Dalian (Luda, Dairen}
This town in northeast China is an important seaport, and a pleasant place to visit. In the old days, it was known in the West as Dairen, and today is often referred to in China as Luda. It is a large industrial city, but has somehow managed to remain neat, tidy and pleasant. There is nothing much to see there except for the harbour and a number of beaches.

To the southwest of Dalian city, further down towards the tip of the peninsula, is Lushun, formerly called Port Arthur, but now the base of the North China Fleet and closed to foreigners. In 1898, Russia forced the Chinese government to hand over the area on a 25-year lease, and began building the harbour. As a result of the Russ-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the Russians were forced to cede the territory to the Japanese who ruled it until they were defeated in their turn in 1945. Construction of the harbour was completed in 1930.

The main tourist activity, apart from visiting factories, is walking around the hilly city, admiring the harbour views. There are some good restaurants in which seafood of all kinds is the speciality.

How to get there and where to stay
There are regular flights to Dalian from Peking, and also train services. The nearest hotel to the railway station is the Dalian Binguan (Zhongshan Guangchang). The Nanshan Bin guan (56 Fenglin Tie) is a little further away near the harbour, and contains a CITS office. Right on the coastline is the Pangcui Dao Bin guan (Pangcui Island Hotel).