Shenyang

Shenyang, also Shen-yang, formerly Mukden, city in north-east China, capital of Liaoning Province, on the Hun River, a major industrial centre. Factories here produce machine tools, processed copper, machinery, steel, and electrical equipment. Northeast College of Technology, a school of medicine, and a music conservatory are located there. The 17th-century Manchu Imperial Palace (designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004), the tomb of Emperor Taizong, and other Chinese historical monuments are notable landmarks.

Originally called Shen, the city was a prosperous Mongol trading station from the 10th to the 12th century ad. Renamed Fengtien, it was under Chinese control from 1368 to 1625; and, as Mukden and Shenking, was an early capital (1625-1644) of the Qing (Manchu) dynasty (1644-1912) before its conquest of Beijing. Modern development, initiated by Russian interests in 1895, continued under Japanese influence following the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) and with the aid of powerful local warlords. The Mukden Incident (1931) marked the start of the Japanese conquest of Dongbei and the establishment of the former Japanese-controlled state of Manchukuo (1932-1945). Looted of its industrial equipment, the city was returned to China in 1945 and renamed Shenyang in 1948. It was the capital (1949-1954) of the short-lived Northeast Administrative Region and was rebuilt as a diversified industrial centre in the 1950s. Population 6,800,000 (2002 estimate).