Shenyang, << shuhn yahng >> (pop. 6,230,000), formerly called Mukden, is the capital of Liaoning Province, China. It lies on the bank of the Hun River in northeastern China. The city is in the center of the most populated part of the Northeast, also called Manchuria. Shenyang has a major international airport and two railway stations. Its factories produce metal products, machine tools, and airplanes.
The center and oldest part of Shenyang has narrow streets and is surrounded by high stone walls. There, some structures date from around the 900’s to the 1100’s, when Shenyang was a Mongol trading center. Outside this area lies a section built by the Russians in the early 1900’s, when they occupied Shenyang. The Japanese developed suburbs of factories and homes after they invaded the region in 1931. North of Shenyang is a beautiful park that has tombs of the Manchu emperors who ruled China from 1644 to 1912.
A major battle of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) took place in Shenyang. Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 following a railroad bombing near the city.
See also Manchuria.
