Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Glances of Manchurian City Shenyang

Last September, I visited my family in Manchurian Shenyang, during the period when summer heat had dissipated and the cold front hadn't crashed down from Siberia yet, therefore the air was also clear and clean, before winter heating season started.

The city had changed much, but some civic monuments were still easily recognizable, such as the Japanese colonial period train station, despite the addition of the vaulted hall in the back:

DSCN9945 _ Train Station from Japanese Colonial Period, Shenyang, China

DSCN9946 _ Train Station from Japanese Colonial Period, Shenyang, China

The City Hall in the city center was an imposing Soviet style building, which citizens could not enter at all:

DSCN6178 _ City Hall, Shenyang, China

The Liaoning Industry Exhibition Hall was also built under the Soviet influence, and many interior details were quite remarkable, though a large portion of the Exhibition Hall had been converted into a rowdy shopping mall:

DSCN5172 _ Building Detail of Exhibition Hall, Shenyang, China
Exhibition Hall detail

DSCN5171 _ Building Detail of Exhibition Hall, Shenyang, China DSCN5174 _ Building Detail of Exhibition Hall

Another civic pride was the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts:

DSCN6254 _ Art Academy, Shenyang, China

From 1980s, the television tower dominated the skyline and it hadn't been completed outmoded:

DSCN5252 _ Television Tower, Shenyang, China

The new landmarks of recent years included the complex of Liaoning Province Museum and Grand Theatre near the City Hall:

DSCN6175 _ Province Art Museum and Grand Theatre, Shenyang, China

There was a futuristic Concert Hall being built in the southern suburb:

DSCN0447 _ Concert Hall, Shenyang, China

DSCN0445 _ Concert Hall, Shenyang, China

During my visit, I saw some other interesting buildings, old and new, scattered all over the city and its suburbs:

DSCN5695 _ Free Trade Zone, Shenyang, China
Free Trade Zone

DSCN5734 _ Shenyang, China
Classical Styled Building

DSCN0437 _ Department Store, Shenyang, China
Department Store

DSCN0431 _ Modern Building, Shenyang, China
Modernistic Towers

DSCN5636 _ Urban Development Museum, Shenyang, China
Urban Planning Exhibition Hall

Amongst the interesting architectures, there were some buildings quite vulgar, such as the hotels below:

DSCN6273 _ Another Vulgar Establishment, 
Shenyang, China

DSCN5268 _ Vulgar Marriott Hotel, Shenyang, China
Marriott Hotel

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A couple evenings, I had chances to ride through some major thoroughfares and night club district - former Concession District, Korean Town and a cluster of luxury shopping district.

First, the European style Concession District:

DSCN5618 _ Former Concension District, Shenyang, China

DSCN5589 _ Night Scene, Shenyang, China


Former Concession District

In the end of this district, there was a huge square, where, unfortunately, a giant statue of Mao Zedong still stood confidently.  I pined for the day that it would be toppled:

DSCN5606 _ Mao's Statue at Sun Yet-Sen Square


Mao Statue in Sun Yet-Sen Square

After Mao, most fittingly, we entered the entertainment district and I had a glimpse of the night life, particularly around the vibrant Korean Town:

DSCN5604 _ A Bath House and Restaurant Complex, Shenyang, China
Bath House and Restaurant Complex

DSCN5567 _ A Seafood Restaurant, Shenyang, China
A huge seafood Restaurant

DSCN5592 _ Korean Town, Shenyang, China
Restaurants and bars in Korean Town

DSCN5596 _ Korean Town, Shenyang, China
Korean Town

The most bizarre sight was the North Korean establishment below in Korean Town, mostly connected to South Korea:

DSCN5593 _ North Korean Establishment in Korean Town, Shenyang, China
North Korean Establishment in Korean Town

Furthermore, I saw other interesting office towers and shopping centers, which were prohibitively expensive:

DSCN5578 _ Night Scene, Shenyang, China DSCN5582 _ Night Scene, Shenyang, China

DSCN5583 _ Shopping Center, Shenyang, China

During the day time, I had a fuller glimpse of that gigantic shopping mall:

DSCN5235 _ High End Shopping Center, Shenyang, China

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the southern suburb where I stayed, there were more modest shopping centers, which didn't hold much interest, other than demonstrating the ordinary folks' life there to be included:

DSCN6306 _ Shopping Center in Suburb, Shenyang, China

DSCN9653 _ Wall Decoration at a Suburban Shopping Center, Shenyang, China

Occasionally, I saw some bizarre sights such as the drill march of shopping mall staff:

DSCN9913 _ Marching Staff at a Suburban Shopping Center, Shenyang, China

Nearby, there was an Olympic Stadium, which hosted preliminary soccer matches during 2008 Beijing Olympic Game:

DSCN9663 _ Olympic Stadium, Shenyang, China

A new tram system just opened when I visited in September and this novelty had attracted many people, and also warranted a couple rather usually civil traffic policemen, near the shopping center and stadium:

DSCN6285 _ Policemen at Tram Stop, Shenyang, China

Here was a bus stop during evening rush hour:

DSCN5266 _ Bus Stop, Shenyang, China

It was very rare to see bicyclists there yet they persisted:

DSCN5270 _ Bicyclist, Shenyang, 
China

I even saw a bicycle repair stand, unbelievable:

DSCN5241 _ Bicycle Repair Stand, Shenyang, China

Most of the roads and bridges were built for automobiles nowadays:

DSCN5742 _ Shenyang, China

The gas stations provided full services.  Actually, I didn't see any self-served gas station there:

DSCN6320 _ Prices at Gas Station, Shenyang, China DSCN6321 _ Serving Staff at Gas Station, Shenyang, China

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The newly built residential buildings were often full of flairs, though not much style:

DSCN5561 _ Residential Compound, Shenyang, China

More interesting was observing how people went through their daily routines, such as a group of women danced together to music, while balancing their balls on top of their badminton rackets, in the courtyard of their residential compound:



It was inside the same compound that I saw someone was drying weeds or vegetables, for unknown purpose. A pretty sight:

DSCN5326 _ In a residential courtyard, Shenyang, China

There was a huge river bank park nearby and between the park and residential areas nearby, there was a very long elevated promenade:

DSCN9977 _ Promenade near a River Bank Park, Shenyang, China

In early September, wild flowers were still in full bloom inside the park:

DSCN9997 _ Inside the River Bank Park

DSCN0069 _ River Bank Park, Shenyang, China

Deep inside the park, many people were fishing by the bank of the main river separating the city and the southern suburb:

DSCN0031 _ River Bank Park, Shenyang, China

DSCN0047 _ River Bank Park, Shenyang, China
View of the City from the river bank

DSCN0048 _ Bridge near River Bank Park, Shenyang, China
Bridge Near the Park

Often, views from the the residential building I stayed were lovely and breathtaking:

DSCN9516 _ Sunset, Shenyang, China

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On my way out, the Airport left another strong impression with its modern sophistication and commonplace:

DSCN6384 _ Airport, Shenyang, China

DSCN6385 _ Shop at the Airport, Shenyang, China



Related posts on Art · 文化 · Kunst:
- City Library Plaza and Urban Planning Museum in Shenyang
- 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

2 comments:

  1. I just moved to Shenyang in July with my wife. We are from the Bay Area. Oddly enough you actually have a picture of our house here towards the top of the page. The picture of the "modest shopping center" at the top right is the tall apartment building where we live. They are still doing a lot of construction here, and really we haven't seen many sunsets like the few you were lucky enough to capture, it has been a really hot and smoggy summer. One thing I have been frustrated with is the lack of transportation maps here, the Subway is pretty well established but, I haven't been able to find a map to see all the different tram lines, and I don't speak Chinese well enough to ask, and understand. Lots of good pictures of the city that we now call home for the next 2 years.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello, Jonathan:

    I somehow missed your comment from last year. I hope you find your stay in Shenyang is not too difficult.

    Here is a link to an image of the Shenyang Tram, if you are still looking for one: http://urbanrail.net/as/cn/shny/shenyang-map.png

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete