The Shenyang Imperial Palace is located at Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, it enjoys equal popularity as the Beijing Palace Museum. It was the imperial palace built by Nurhachu, chief and his heir Huangtaiji (the predecessor of the Man nationality). It has a history of 400 years and a cluster of palaces surrounded from east, middle and west sides, the layout of which appears to be natural, subli...[Full]

The Shenyang Imperial Palace is located at Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, it enjoys equal popularity as the Beijing Palace Museum. It was the imperial palace built by Nurhachu, chief and his heir Huangtaiji (the predecessor of the Man nationality). It has a history of 400 years and a cluster of palaces surrounded from east, middle and west sides, the layout of which appears to be natural, sublime and imposing. It is the most intact imperial building ever existing in history only second to the Beijing Palace Museum. It is famous for its strong characteristics of the Man nationality. The shenyang Imperial Palace is very rich in cultural relics and has now been turned into a museum.

Founded in 1624, the 380-year-old Shenyang Imperial Palace is one of the few ancient Chinese architectures to epitomize an ethnic culture, next to the Potala Palace in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The main structure of the palace was started by Nuerhachi (1559-1626) and completed by his son Huangtaiji (1592-1643), both founding emperors of the Qing Dynasty, China’s last dynasty that was founded by the Manchu aristocrats in 1644 and collapsed in 1911.

After the dynasty territorially expanded southward and eventually ruled the whole China, the Forbidden City in Beijing succeeded it as royal residence. But still, Qing Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong, the two longest-ruling emperors in China`s history, expanded the palace and added Han and Mongol architectural styles to its original Manchu style.

The palace covers 70,000 square meters and has some 300 rooms in 70 buildings. Through smaller than the 720,000-square-meter Forbidden City in Beijing, Shenyang Imperial Palace still has unique features and special historical, artistic and scientific values.

Its architecture mirrors Manchu customs and the blend of local ethnic groups at the time of its construction. From this palace, we know a lot about the Qing Dynasty in its incipient stage.

The Dazheng (Grand Politics) Hall, built by Nuerhachi, has a group of ten Banner Pavilions in the front that were administrative offices for tribal chieftains. The buildings are typically Manchu in style and showcase the eight-banner system that originated in the Manchu tribes hunting process.

Besides, all buildings in the palace were strategically designed to ensure safety, he added. The residence buildings were all taller than the throne hall because the nomadic Manchu people would remain vigilant even when they were asleep.

The tallest building in Beijing's Forbidden City, on the contrary, is the throne hall, or Hall of Supreme Harmony, which isas tall as a nine-story building to show the supreme power of the emperor, who was described as the "Son of Heaven".

Compared with the Forbidden City, which was first built in 1406 and features solely the Han culture, the Shenyang palace also highlighted the Manchu people's awe for their ancestors. Huangtaiji, for example, had the Chongzheng (Supreme Politics) Hall built for his enthronement, instead of moving into his father's Dazheng Hall, to show respect.

Likewise, Emperor Qianlong erected the Diguang Hall during a visit to Shenyang as his own residence.

As a result, the Shenyang palace has three halls with glazed tile roofs in bright yellow, symbol of royal power. In the Forbidden City, however, there's only one hall -- the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Besides the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Shenyang Imperial Palace is the only other existing palace complex in China. Within its walls much is revealed about the early Qing Dynasty. It was listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 2004.[Close]

The Shenyang Imperial Palace is located at Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, it enjoys equal popularity as the Beijing Palace Museum. It was the imperial palace built by Nurhachu, chief and his heir Huangtaiji (the predecessor of the Man nationality). It has a history of 400 years and a cluster of palaces surrounded from east, middle and west sides, the layout of which appears to be natural, subli...[Full]