Getting imperious in Shenyang

Game of thrones in Shenyang

Those of you who have been following the posts on our brief trip to Shenyang 沈阳 last week might remember that on Tomb Sweeping Day 清明节 (aka last Thursday) we had planned on visiting the one historic sight the city is most noted for, the Shenyang Imperial Palace 沈阳故宫. It turned out, however, that quite a few Chinese had the same idea, and in the end my wife and I decided seeing the historic site wasn't worth putting up with the crowds that had gathered there. 

Cue last Saturday. Our original itinerary called for us to catch a train at the somewhat ungodly time of 0818 hours for a five-hour ride back to Beijing 北京 (it was the only time Shu-E could book due to the holiday rush). However, on Friday evening, my wife noted that seats on some other trains had become available (presumably due to cancelations and changed plans), and after some discussion, we switched our reservation and shelled out for a pair of business class seats on a high-speed train that would depart at 1234 hours (and only take two hours and forty-five minutes to get to Beijing Chaoyang railway station 北京朝阳站). And now that we had some time to kill on that Saturday morning, we decided to give the imperial palace one more chance, arriving there shortly after 0900 hours. It would turn out to be a wise move, for while the palace was still busy, it wasn't Chinese national holiday busy.

The Shenyang Imperial Palace resembles a scaled-down version of Beijing's famed Forbidden City 故宫. It was originally constructed between 1625 and 1636 by the Manchu emperor Nurhachi and his son Huang Taiji 皇太極. It served as the their seat of power until 1644, when the Manchus moved to Beijing with the establishment of the Qing dynasty 清朝. There are a total of 114 buildings in the complex, but not all of them are open, and some were being renovated or restored during our visit. The first building we went into was the Chongzheng Hall 崇政殿, the main hall of the palace known as the "Throne Room" (for obvious reasons). Ceremonies and sacrifices were still held there even after the rulers had decamped to Beijing:

The Phoenix Tower 凤凰楼, where the emperor, empress and the concubines would dine and read. Later, it became a storehouse for imperial portraits and seals:

The Qingning Palace 清宁宫 served as the bedroom for Emperor Huang Taiji and his empress:

The neighboring Guanju Palace 关雎宫 was where one of the concubines would sleep:

Being photographed for either the cover of my next vinyl album, or the author photo on the inside of the dustjacket of my latest book. I still haven't decided:

Shu-E was very interested in this wall artwork, so I took a picture of it as well:

The emperors of yore seemed to be very fond of erecting steles all over the empire:

The photo session continued:

The Wensu Pavilion 文溯阁 originally served as a library:

Artwork on display in the Jiujian Hall 九间殿:

The Baoji Palace 保级宫 was another imperial bedroom: 

Modern-day Shenyang tries to get a glimpse of its own forbidden city. Not an easy thing to do when the smog is heavy:

Getting ready to enjoy an ice cream toward the end of our visit:

It was shaped to resemble the Dazheng Hall 大政殿, and the end result was impressive...and delicious:

As is common in China, some tourists rented costumes for photographic purposes:

Shu-E and I left the palace just as the crowds were beginning to thicken. We first returned to our hotel to retrieve our bags, then continued in the same taxi to the train station. Despite appearances to the contrary, the building on the left is intentionally designed to look like something you would see in Hualien 花蓮 these days:

The typically cavernous Shenyang railway station 沈阳站:

My wife was disappointed that our train wasn't one of the most modern ones:

Even the seats weren't state of the art enough for her, but I was fine with the expensive comfort. Plus we were served 便当 (lunchboxes) for lunch - Kung Pao chicken 宫保鸡丁 in my case (though the presentation left something to be desired, especially compared to Japanese 駅弁 or Taiwanese 御便當):

The scenery from the train in northern China leaves something to be desired, with very little of interest to break up the monotony:

In all of these posts, you may have noticed the lack of mention regarding our daughter, Amber. She elected to stay home, citing the need to prepare for her upcoming finals. It was her first time to be home alone for an extended period (four days in this case), but good practice in preparation for when she leaves the nest this summer to attend uni somewhere in the U.S. My little girl is growing up too quickly (she's attending prom as I write these words), but Amber is now a legal adult and must be given the trust and responsibility that comes with leaving adolescence. And judging by the uneventful time she had in Beijing while her parents were hanging out with friends in Shenyang and gawking at the North Korean border, I'm sure she'll do just fine on her own in college. 

As for Shenyang, it was good to get out of Beijing and see a different part of China. Thanks to our friends Tom and Frida, we were able to overcome our initial impression of the city's grittiness, and see a bit of Shenyang's more modern side. Still, I wouldn't want to be posted there, namely due to the weather, pollution and...the provincialism. Call me a snob, but I've become quite comfortable in the waiguoren 外国人 ghetto that is Beijing's Chaoyang District 朝阳区, and at my age I don't need to experience the "real China" other than the occasional foray. As Danny Glover so eloquently puts it:

I should have known better - Lennon, not Lenin

 

Shenyang at night

I know, right? Considering all the cumulative time spent in Taiwan and China, and yet I still thought it would be a good idea to do some sightseeing on a Chinese national holiday (Tomb Sweeping Day 清明节, which this year fell on a Thursday). And so we set out in a taxi from our hotel to the Shenyang Imperial Palace 沈阳故宫, the city's prime sightseeing spot. Because of heavy traffic, we got out of the vehicle before reaching the massive Huaiyuanmen gate 怀远门, and headed toward the historic site:

In retrospect it might have been better not to have constructed this high-rise directly across from the gate, unless the juxtaposition was intentional:

Seeing the throng waiting to get into the stanchion-lined lanes in order to enter the palace was enough for my wife and I to conclude it might be better to wait until later in the afternoon, when the crowds would hopefully be thinner:

So instead plans were made to meet our friends Tom and Frida at another location about ten minutes on foot from the palace, and off we set out. A big part of sightseeing Chinese-style is the opportunity to dress up, and so we passed by many people (mostly women and children) sporting Qing dynasty 清朝-styling clothing for photographic purposes:

Shenyang is still home to a number of pre-Second World War buildings, back when the city was known as Mukden:

We made our way over to Marshal Zhang's Mansion 张氏帅府 the former home of Zhang Zuolin 张作霖, a warlord and politician who was assassinated by the Japanese in 1928. Outside stands a statue of his son Chang Hsueh-liang 张学良, known for his kidnapping of Chiang Kai-shek 蔣中正 in the December 1936 Xi'an Incident 西安事变, which led to an eventual 50 years under house arrest in China and Taiwan:

Shu-E stands in front of a sign reading hóngxǐ 鴻禧, meaning "great joy"...I think:

While waiting for our friends to appear, the two of us joined the crowd to gawk at the bedrooms belonging to the Marshal's collection of wives and concubines:

Tom and Frida arrived soon after my wife snapped this photo:

Standing outside the house of a concubine who was obviously favored over the others. We decided not to enter:

Though none of us were fans of "people mountain, people sea" 人山人海 scenarios, but we decided Zhang's former residence might be the one location worth standing in long lines together with the masses (including at least one couple brazenly cutting in line). Welcome to (northern) China:

 

The following photos may suggest a bygone era of aristocratic affluence, but missing are the hundreds of people clogging the hallways and staircases in an attempt to get a glimpse inside the different rooms:

Finally back outside, with more lined up, waiting to join the hordes still inside:

Happy Tomb Sweeping Day!:

From the house we took a Didi to one of Shenyang's busy shopping areas, only to find a long wait for a seat at the massive Lao Bian Dumpling 老边饺子:

So it was back into another hired car, this time to one of the city's most upscale malls, where we had a most satisfying lunch at Fengtian Restaurant 奉天小馆:

Following the meal we walked over to the consulate district, where the U.S. among others is represented in China's northeast. It was an opportunity to see Shenyang's more modern, less grittier side:

Yes, I was. I believe this photo was taken close to the North Korean consulate:

Back at the North Yorker Hotel, and the offices of Air Koryo, the flagship carrier of the DPRK. As it was after 1700 hours the place was closed, though apparently it isn't often that it appears open even during the supposed business hours:

For dinner we joined our friends at Carney's, a bar/restaurant popular with Shenyang's small expatriate community, and a needed break from Chinese food:

Following dinner Tom and I eschewed a Didi and walked back to the hotel, passing through the plaza that is home to Shenyang's Mao Zedong statue:

Lessons (re)learned: don't travel in China on a day when millions of Chinese are also free of school and work obligations - that's what American holidays are for. Though we didn't get the opportunity on this Thursday to go back and tackle the Imperial Palace, we still had a nice day out, largely thanks to our gracious guides. And tomorrow I would finally have the chance to tick the box for one of my travel bucket list items.

Stay tuned...