This Ming wall was heavily damaged in 1625 after the Manchu laid siege and captured the city, with only the north wall and gate (which had undergone reinforcing reconstructions in 1545 under the orders of Jiajing Emperor) remained intact. The Manchu leader Nurhachi however saw the strategic value of the city, and decided to formally relocate his Later Jin capital from Liaoyang to Shen Yang, and ordered the city wall to be rebuilt. According to Annals of Mukden (盛京通志), the new city wall was a standard black brick wall standing at a height of 3.5 zhàngs (about 12.5 metres or 41.0 feet), a width of 1.8 zhàngs (about 6.4 metres or 21.0 feet) and a total length of 9 lis and 332 bus (about 6.4 kilometres or 4.0 miles) long, complete with 12 towers (8 gate and 4 corner) and a 14.5 zhàngs (about 52-metre or 171-foot) wide moat. The city gates were increased from four to eight, though the old Ming-era north gate and tower was preserved but sealed shut, later known as the "Ninth Gate" (九門).
After the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644 and the routing of the Shun army in the Battle of Shanhai Pass merely a day later, the Manchus successfully entered the Shanhai Pass to establish the Qing dynasty in China proper, with the capital relocated to Beijing. However, Shen Yang retained considerable importance as the secondary capital and the spiritual home of the Qing dynasty through the centuries. Treasures of the royal house were kept at its palaces, and the tombs of the early Qing rulers were once among the most famous monuments in China. In 1657, Fengtian Prefecture (奉天府; Fèngtiān Fŭ; Manchu: ᠠᠪᡴᠠᡳ
ᡳᠮᡳᠶᠠᠩᡤᠠ
ᡶᡠ; Möllendorff: abkai imiyangga fu; Abkai: abkai imiyangga fu or Manchu: ᡶᡠᠩ ᡨᡳᠶᠠᠨ; Möllendorff: fung tiyian; Abkai: fung tiyian) was established in the Shen Yang area, and Fengtian (literally: "mandated by Heaven") was sometimes used synonymously with Shenyang/Mukden.
Shenyang has 731 medical and Health care centers, 63,000 Health care staff and 3.02 Health care worker per 1,000 people. There are 34,033 hospital beds and 45,680 various kinds of medical and technical personnel, among whom there are 17,346 licensed doctors, 1,909 assistant licensed doctors, and 16887 certified Nurses. The average expected life-span of the people in Shen Yang is 73.8 years.
After the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan coerced the annexation of the Liaodong Peninsula with the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895, though was forced to give it up due to diplomatic pressure from the Triple Intervention. In the aftermath of the Japanese threat, Qing viceroy Li Hongzhang visited Moscow in 1896 and signed a secret treaty with Russian foreign minister Aleksey Lobanov-Rostovsky, allowing Imperial Russia to build a Russian gauge railway in Manchuria, which opened the door towards further Russian expansionism in the form of another lease convention in 1898, effectively allowing Russia to annex Northeast China in all but name. However, after the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, Russian forces used the anti-foreigner insurgency as a pretext to formally invade and occupied most of Manchuria, and Mukden became a Russian stronghold in the Far East with the building of the South Manchurian Railway.
During the Russo-Japanese War (1904—1905), Mukden was the site of the Battle of Mukden from February 19 to March 10, 1905. Involving more than 600,000 combat participants, it was the largest battle since the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, and also the largest modern-era battle ever fought in Asia before World War II. Following the Japanese victory, Mukden became one of the chief bases of Japanese presence and economic expansion into southern Manchuria. It also became the government seat of Fengtian province in 1910.
In 1914, the city changed back to its old name Shen Yang, but continued to be known as Mukden (sometimes spelled Moukden) in some English sources and in Japan through much of the first half of 20th century. The postmark of the Chinese postal administration kept the spelling "MOUKDEN/奉天" for usage on international mails until the late 1920s. After that, a Chinese–Manchurian bilingual type "SHENYANG (MUKDEN)/瀋陽 (奉天)" datestamp was used until 1933.
Shenyang is an important industrial center in China and is the core city of Shen Yang Economic Zone, a New Special Reform Zone. It has been focused on heavy industry, particularly aerospace, machine tools, heavy equipment and defence, and recently on software, Automotive and electronics. The heavy industry started in the 1920s and was well developed before the second world war. During the first five-year plan (1951–1956) many factories were built in Tiexi district. At its peak in the 1970s, Shen Yang was one of the top three industrial centers in China alongside Shanghai and Tianjin, and was at one time being considered for upgrading to a direct-controlled municipality. However, as the planned economy fell out of favor after the 1980s, the heavy industry had declined gradually and the city became a rust belt city, with hundreds of thousands of people laid off from bankrupted state-owned factories. However, the economy of the city has revived significantly in recent years, thanks to the central government's "Revitalize Northeast China" campaign and the rapid development of software and auto manufacture industries. Investment subsidies are granted to multinational corporations (MNCs) that set up offices or headquarters in Shen Yang.
In the early 20th century, Shen Yang began expanding out of its old city walls. The Shen Yang Railway Station on the South Manchurian Railway and the Shen Yang North Railway Station on the Jingfeng Railway, both west of the old city, became the new commercial centers of Shen Yang. In the 1920s, Mukden was the capital of the warlord Zhang Zuolin, who was later assassinated when his train was blown up on June 4, 1928 at a Japanese-guarded railway bridge. At the time, several factories were built by Zhang to manufacture ammunition in the northern and eastern suburbs. These factories laid the foundation for Shenyang's industrial development.
At around 10:20 pm on September 18, 1931, a small quantity of dynamite was detonated close to a railway line near Mukden owned by the Japanese South Manchuria Railway Company by Kwantung Army Lt. Kawamoto Suemori. The Imperial Japanese Army, accusing Chinese dissidents of the act, then use the false flag explosion as pretext to launch a full attack on Mukden, and captured the city the following morning (September 19). After the Mukden Incident, the Japanese further invaded and occupied the rest of Northeast China, and created the puppet state of Manchukuo with the deposed Emperor Aisin Gioro Puyi as the figurehead. During the Manchukuo era (1932–1945), the city was again called Fengtian (and Mukden in English), and was developed by the Japanese into a center of heavy industry. Japan was able to exploit resources in Manchuria using the extensive network of railroads. For Example, vast expanses of Manchurian forest were chopped down. The development of Shen Yang was also unbalanced in this period; municipal facilities were mostly located in Japanese residential areas, while Chinese residential areas had poor living conditions.
Under Marshal of the Soviet Union Aleksandr Vasilevsky, the Far East Command of Soviet forces entered Manchuria in early August 1945 following the surrender of Japan. On 16 August 1945, Manchurian Emperor Puyi was captured in Shen Yang Airport by the Soviet Red Army while he was in an airplane fleeing to Japan. On 20 August, Soviet troops captured Shen Yang. British and US reports indicate that the Soviet troops that occupied Northeast China and Eastern Inner Mongolia region looted and terrorized the people of Shen Yang, and were not discouraged by Soviet authorities from "three days of rape and pillage". The Soviets were replaced by the Nationalist Chinese, who were flown in on U.S. transport planes. During the Chinese Civil War, Shen Yang remained a Kuomintang stronghold from 1946 to 1948, although the Chinese communists controlled the surrounding countryside. It was captured by the communists on October 30, 1948, following a series of offensives known as the Liaoshen Campaign.
Nearly all of these city walls and gates were demolished after 1949. Two gates and one corner tower of the inner wall were rebuilt during the 1990s. There had, however, been proposals to rebuild the other gates and towers in preparation to the 12th National Games in 2013.
Shenyang is famous for its football tradition. The local football club is the Liaoning F.C., in the Chinese Super League. Liaoning F.C. was once the consecutive national champion for 10 years from 1984 to 1993, and the first Chinese team to win the AFC Champions League in 1990. Another Chinese Super League team, Shen Yang Jinde moved to Changsha in 2007. Shen Yang Olympic Sports Center Stadium, a 60,000-seated soccer stadium, was a venue for the football preliminary of 2008 Summer Olympics.
Launched in 1988 as the Shen Yang National New and High-Tech Industrial Development Zone and elevated to a national-level zone in 1991, the Hunnan New Area (浑南新区) focuses on electronic and information Technology products such as software, computers, network systems, communication equipment and audio/visual equipment; advanced Manufacturing technologies, especially for automobiles, medical equipment; advanced materials and biological and pharmaceutical products. The zone has hosted more than 5,700 enterprises, including 700 foreign-invested enterprises. Foreign companies such as the General Electric Co., Tyco International, and Mitsubishi Group operate in the zone. Currently, the Shen Yang City Government is working on expanding the city and plans to relocate its seat to the Hunnan New Area from the current site in Shenhe District.
Over the past 200 years or so, Shen Yang has somehow managed to grow and increase its industrial might, despite consecutive wars with Russia and Japan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Second World War, and China's Civil War (Shenyang became the main battleground between the Communists and Nationalists). The city never came to an economic halt until the 1990s, when its massive factories went bankrupt and left millions jobless, which was well documented in the film Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks.
The Xinmin City (新民市; "new residents city"), formerly Xinmin County (新民县) before 1993, is a county-level city and contains the westernmost part of the Greater Shen Yang area, and by far the most spacious of any county-level divisions of Shen Yang with an area of 3,297 km (1,273 sq mi), with a registered population of 690,703 (2014). It borders Faku County to the northeast, Shenbei and Yuhong Districts to the east, Tiexi District to the southeast, Liaozhong District to the south, the prefecture-level cities of Jinzhou to the west and Fuxin to the North West.
In Shen Yang, there are more than 160 bus routes. Shen Yang used to have about 20 trolley bus routes, one of the biggest trolley bus networks in China. The entire network was demolished in 1999 after a serious electrocution accident that killed 5 passengers in August 12, 1998, and was replaced by diesel-powered buses.
The large southwestern part of the neighbouring Tiexi District also used to belong to Yuhong District, but in May 2002, the southwestern part of Yuhong District was ceded on order of the city government to establish the Shen Yang Economic and Technological Development Zone, and the administration of the region was later transferred to Tiexi District instead. This annexation of land left an exclave territory lying between Tiexi District, Heping District and Sujiatun District, separated from the main body of Yuhong District, hence making the Tiexi District flanked at the "neck" by the two parts of Yuhong.
Shenyang is home to China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University 1st, 2nd (renamed Shengjing Hospital in 2003) and 4th Affiliated Hospital, 202 Hospital, Liaoning Tumor Hospital, Shen Yang No.7 People's Hospital, Shen Yang Orthopaedics Hospital, Shen Yang Army General Hospital, North Hospital, and various other hospitals and clinics.
Shenyang has been planning an underground rapid transit system since 1940, but was unable to materialize the idea due to the city's geology and engineering limitations. On November 18, 2005, the construction of the first Shen Yang Metro line finally started and the construction of the second line started on November 18, 2006. The first (east-west) line was opened September 27, 2010 and the second (north–south) was opened on January 9, 2012. Construction is difficult due to the granite-rich bedrock on which the city is built.
The city has been identified by the Economist Intelligence Unit in the November 2010 Access China White Paper as a member of the CHAMPS (Chongqing, Hefei, Anshan, Maanshan, Pingdingshan and Shenyang), an economic profile of the top 20 emerging cities in China.
Since 2011, a daily direct container rail Service has carried Automotive parts 11,000 km (6,800 mi) from Leipzig, Germany to Shen Yang through Siberia with a 23-day transit time.
Xinmin has one of the leading horticulture industries in China, especially in apples, watermelon and white cabbages, as well as animal husbandry such as chicken and pigs. Light Manufacturing is also an important part of Xinmin's economy, with 57% of its GDP derived from food processing, pharmaceuticals and packaging products in 2012. The city also has access to the Liaohe oil field. There are also proposals to relocated the defunct East Pagoda Airport to Xinmin for reopening.
Japan, Russia, South Korea. France, Germany, North Korea and the United States all have consulates in Shen Yang, located in Heping District. The German consulate is relatively new, opened in 2013. An Australian Consulate-General is due to be opened in 2018, with Austrade having operated in the city since 2011.
The Shen Yang city government legally recognizes five religious beliefs — Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism. During the period between 1949 and 1976, religious practices were significantly repressed, but have recovered since the end of the Cultural Revolution. As of 2012, Shen Yang has seven city-level religious organizations, with 289 legally registered places of worship, 483 clerics and about 400,000 followers.
The Liaozhong District (辽中区; "Liaoning's center district", referring to its central location within the province) is the newest and largest suburban district. Formerly the Liaozhong County (辽中县), its rural county status was made defunct in January 2016, and formally instated as a suburban city district on April 11, 2016. It lies 67 km (42 mi) southwest of downtown Shen Yang, near the intersection of G1 Beijing–Harbin Expressway and G91 Liaozhong Ring Expressway. As of 2014, it had a population of 532,900 residing in an area of 1,645 km (635 sq mi). It is the most southwestern part of Shen Yang City, bordering Xinmin City to the north, and Tiexi District to the northeast, as well as the prefecture-level cities of Liaoyang to the southeast, Anshan to the south and southwest, and Jinzhou to the west.
In the 17th century, Shen Yang was conquered by the Manchu people and briefly used as the capital of the Qing dynasty.
