Sunday, January 19, 2014

City Library Plaza and Urban Planning Exhibition Hall in Shenyang


DSCN6161 _ Science Contrum, City Library Plaza, Shenyang

When riding a bus in my home city Shenyang, I noticed a huge, pleasant looking plaza populated with intriguing figurative sculptures and surrounded by idiosyncratically shaped buildings, and I made an effort to spend some time in the plaza with my parents and my sister.

It was almost a sunken plaza, due to the ever taller highrises being built around this oasis.  When I lived there, I had never visited this part of the city and the growth or sprawling of this metropolis was quite impressive and disheartening. 

DSCN6156 _ City Library Plaza, Shenyang

DSCN6154 _ Science Center, City Library Plaza, Shenyang

DSCN6153 _ City Library Plaza, Shenyang DSCN6168 _ City Library Plaza, Shenyang

The plaza was actually called City Library Plaza and the huge sloping structure was the library itself.  The metal sculptures were culled from a now-demolished soccer stadium, long been replaced by a fancier one, used for preliminary soccer matches during 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

DSCN6172 _ Children's Center, City Library Plaza, Shenyang

DSCN6166 _ City Library Plaza, Shenyang

DSCN6162 _ City Library Plaza, Shenyang

DSCN6159 _ City Library Plaza, Shenyang

The boxy structure to the right of the library in the picture below was a Children Center and the domed structure, to the left of the library, in the following picture was a Science Center:

DSCN6163 _ Children's Center, City Library Plaza, Shenyang

DSCN6165 _ Science Center, City Library Plaza, Shenyang

I was also quite taken by the installation near the library:

DSCN6164 _ City Library Plaza, Shenyang DSCN6171 _ City Library Plaza, Shenyang

The Library was not very flamboyant comparing to other buildings in the plaza but I was impressed by its large space and many programs it offered, much like a civic library in the US, a thing unheard of before I left China; Chinese libraries then were loft institutions and one must had some introductory letter to be able to use them.

DSCN6107 _ City Library, Shenyang

DSCN6115 _ City Library, Shenyang

Not only the library had spacious reading rooms, it also had some exhibition space and then was showcasing some calligraphy works, written in a huge array of styles:

DSCN6109 _ City Library, Shenyang

DSCN6111 _ City Library, Shenyang DSCN6112 _ City Library, Shenyang

Further behind the plaza, there was a large park, Popular Science Park, and a modest but interesting museum - Urban Planning Exhibition Hall.  It was free but we must present our I.D.s to enter.  During our staying there, we were the only visitors to this quite pleasant place:

DSCN6149 _ Urban Planning Museum, Shenyang

DSCN6147 _ Urban Planning Museum, Shenyang DSCN6148 _ Urban Planning Museum, Shenyang

DSCN6145 _ Urban Planning Museum, Shenyang

DSCN6146 _ Urban Planning Museum, Shenyang - Copy

DSCN5636 _ Urban Development Museum, Shenyang, China
Exhibition Hall at night

There were many people in the park - socializing, dancing and exercising, including these two people doing their bizarre whipping exercise:



Urban living can be pleasant and exciting.


Related posts on Art · 文化 · Kunst:
- Supermarkets in Shenyang, China
- Red Reeds (Suaeda) Beach in Panjin, China
- Tram and Subway in Shenyang, China
- Industrial Museum of China in Manchurian Shenyang
- Ziyan Lavender Manor Garden, Shenyang China
- Kitchen, Restaurant and Food Court in Shenyang, China
- New Subway System in Shenyang, China

 Label: Shenyang, Shenyang Trip 2013

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