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The Shenyang Palace Museum in Liaoning Province is a popular attraction for tourists visiting Shenyang. As one of the two most complete surviving palace complexes in China, the Shenyang Palace Museum is a National Key Cultural Relic Protection Site. While not as large as the Forbidden City in Beijing, its unique history, geographical features, and rich Manchu characteristics have attracted numerous tourists from both home and abroad in recent years.
Main Gate of the Shenyang Palace Museum (Photo by Feng Ganyong)
On May 12, 2005, a group of reporters visited this renowned Manchu imperial palace in Shenyang. Since it wasn't a holiday, wandering the relatively uncrowded Palace Museum was a truly delightful experience. 
Wandering in the Palace Museum (Photo by Feng Ganyong)
The Shenyang Imperial Palace now has two gates. One serves as the palace's exit; inside is also a parking lot. On the wall outside the gate, a white marble plaque with gold lettering on a white background bears the four radiant characters "Shenyang Imperial Palace" inscribed by Guo Moruo. The other gate serves as the main entrance to the Palace Museum. The plaque above the gate, "The Palace Museum," stands out prominently.
Inside the West Courtyard of the Forbidden City (Photo by Feng Ganyong)
Records indicate that the Shenyang Imperial Palace, originally built in 1625, was the imperial palace established by Nurhaci, the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and Huang Taiji, the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty, before the Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains. Also known as the Shengjing Palace, it served as a secondary capital and the emperor's palace during eastern tours after the Qing Dynasty established control over the Central Plains. Emperor Fulin ascended the throne here. After several major renovations, the Shenyang Imperial Palace has now been designated the Shenyang Palace Museum.
Long Corridor in the Forbidden City (Photo by Feng Ganyong)
Since the streets in Shenyang's old city are shaped like a well, the Forbidden City is located at the center of this well-shaped street. Covering an area of 60,000 square meters, it currently houses 114 ancient buildings, including over 90 structures and over 300 rooms. The Shenyang Imperial Palace can be divided into three sections based on its architectural layout and construction sequence: the eastern section houses the Dazheng Hall and the Ten Kings Pavilion, built during the reign of Nurhaci; the central section, the Dazhongque, constructed during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty, includes the Daqing Gate, Chongzheng Hall, the Phoenix Tower, and the Qingning Palace, Guansui Palace, Yanqing Palace, and Qifu Palace; and the western section, the Wensui Pavilion, added during the Qianlong reign. The entire palace is a magnificent spectacle, with towering buildings and carved beams and painted rafters.
The Palace of the Summer Palace (Photo by Feng Ganyong)
The Shenyang Imperial Palace, in particular, features high-platform buildings like the Da Zheng Hall and Chong Zheng Hall with their golden dragon-shaped pillars, the Ten Kings Pavilions arranged like geese, the Qingning Palace with its pocket-shaped kangs, the quaint and elegant Wenshuo Pavilion, and the Fenghuang Tower. These are all unique in the history of Chinese palace architecture. The "high palace, low hall" architectural style, rich in Manchu sentiment, is truly unique.
Photos of the Forbidden City (Photo by Wu Changmin)
The palaces within the Shenyang Imperial Palace each have their own unique characteristics. Chongzheng Hall, located in the center of the central front courtyard, commonly known as the "Golden Throne Hall," is the most important building in the Shenyang Imperial Palace. The entire hall is constructed entirely of wood, with five bays and nine purlins in the gabled roof style. It features partition doors and front and back corridors surrounded by carved stone railings.
The Palace Museum Pavilion (Photography: Feng Ganyong)
The palace's corridor columns are square, with water-spitting dragon heads beneath them. The roof is covered with yellow glazed tiles with green trim. The hall columns are round, connected by a carved dragon, with the dragon's head protruding from the eaves and the dragon's tail reaching straight into the hall. This perfect combination of practicality and decoration adds to the palace's imperial grandeur. A corner of the courtyard and corridor (Photo by Feng Ganyong) This hall was where Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty conducted daily court affairs. In 1636, the ceremony marking the Later Jin dynasty's change of name to the Great Qing took place here. The three-story Phoenix Tower, located north of Chongzheng Hall, was the tallest building in Shengjing at the time. Da Zheng Hall (Photo by Feng Ganyong) Da Zheng Hall, commonly known as the Octagonal Hall, was built in 1625. It was a major palace constructed by Nurhaci, the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and the most solemn and sacred site within the Shengjing Imperial Palace. Originally known as the Great Yamen, it was renamed Dugong Hall in 1636 and later the Da Zheng Hall. It features an octagonal, double-eaved, pointed-roof structure with eight-sided corridors, and a Sumeru pedestal beneath. The octagonal hall's roof is clad in yellow glazed tiles with a green border. A flaming crown crowns the center, surrounded by eight iron chains each connected to a powerful warrior. The two front pillars are each crowned with a coiled golden dragon. Inside, a Sanskrit-inscribed ceiling and a caisson ceiling feature a dragon-subduing caisson. The hall is furnished with a throne, a screen, an incense burner, an incense pavilion, and crane-shaped candlesticks. This hall served as the venue for major ceremonies and political events held by Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty, Huang Taiji. In 1644 (the first year of the Shunzhi reign), Emperor Fulin ascended the throne here. The Ten Kings Pavilions, arranged in a figure-eight pattern on either side of the Dazheng Hall, reflect the Manchu Eight Banners system in palace architecture. This layout is unique in the history of ancient Chinese palace architecture. The five pavilions to the east, from north to south, are the Left King Pavilion, the Bordered Yellow Banner Pavilion, the Plain White Banner Pavilion, the Bordered White Banner Pavilion, and the Plain Blue Banner Pavilion; the five pavilions to the west are the Right King Pavilion, the Plain Yellow Banner Pavilion, the Plain Red Banner Pavilion, the Bordered Red Banner Pavilion, and the Bordered Blue Banner Pavilion. These pavilions served as the venue for the beile and ministers of the Eight Banners in the early Qing Dynasty to discuss and handle government affairs.
Ten Kings Pavilion Square (Photo by Feng Ganyong)
The Ten Kings Pavilion, a historically rare example of the emperor and his ministers working together in a palace, is a rare sight. Architecturally, the Dazheng Hall is also a pavilion, but its larger size and more ornate decorations earn it the title of a palace. The Dazheng Hall and the ten pavilions arranged in a figure-eight pattern are inspired by the tent halls of ethnic minorities. These eleven pavilions are the embodiment of eleven tents. While tents are mobile, pavilions are fixed, representing a milestone in the development of Manchu culture. Wensui Pavilion was built in 1782 (the 47th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign). It housed the Wensui Pavilion's Siku Quanshu collection, along with the Gujin Tushu Jicheng (Complete Collection of Ancient and Modern Books). Behind the pavilion is Yangxizhai, with its east and west corridors, where the emperor would study. The Phoenix Tower, built on a 4-meter-high blue brick platform, features a three-drop-water hip-and-gable rooftop veranda and a yellow glazed tile roof with a green trim. As the tallest structure in Shengjing, it earned the titles of "Phoenix Tower at Dawn" and "Phoenix Tower Viewing the Pagoda," among others, among the "Eight Scenic Spots of Shengjing." Atop the tower is a plaque inscribed by Emperor Qianlong: "Purple Air Coming from the East."
Phoenix Tower in the Forbidden City (Photo by Feng Ganyong)
The Shenyang Palace Museum is not only a complex of ancient palace buildings, but is also famous both at home and abroad for its rich and precious collections. The Forbidden City displays a large number of palace relics left over from the old palace, such as the sword used by Nurhaci.
Quiet Courtyards (Photo by Feng Ganyong)
The Forbidden City's courtyards are particularly tranquil and peaceful, with long corridors, pavilions, flowers, plants, and trees complementing the classical palace complex. Especially during the bright spring months, the vibrant blooms of flowers and plants seem to bring this ancient palace to life. (Photo and text by Feng Ganyong)
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