by Russell Smeaton

Created on: November 26, 2009

Situated in China's industrial north east, Shenyang is often overlooked as a tourist spot. It's not one of the more obvious places when people think about going to China and is certainly not covered in many of the current travel itinerary's. At first glance this is understandable. In Winter, temperatures plummet to a bone-aching minus 20. In Summer, the temperature can soar up to a sticky 35. It's certainly a harsher climate than the more gentle south. Temperatures non-withstanding, Shenyang could also be off the tourist attraction list as it could appear to the uneducated eye to be nothing more than a sprawling mess of buildings and roads. The buses are often packed to capacity and run down, and the taxi drivers are famed for taking no prisoners. So why go?

There are, in fact, many reasons for visiting Shenyang and if you bear with me, I think you'll agree.

So, lets look at the evidence. Shenyang is often referred to as the gateway to the North. In ancient times it was the capital of the North and still maintains a strong Manchurian feel. GuGong, or the Imperial Palace is kept in grand condition and is easily reached as it's slap bang in the middle of the city. While not as impressive as Beijing's Forbidden City, the Imperial Palace certainly has enough to warrant a visit to Shenyang for itself alone. The walk up to the Palace is also very picturesque. You leave the hustle of the city centre and enter a nice quiet street albeit filled with tourist shops selling the usual tourist stuff. All the shops have an "Olde China" facade which works nicely in building up the atmosphere of history. The Palace itself is easily managed and can be explored in a day.

Still on historical architecture, Shenyang has a large park called Beiling (North Tomb) Park and is worth a visit as it hosts the very interesting Northern Tombs. The park itself is a little world weary, the grass is a bit grey and some of the ponds look a little bit worse the wear. However, visit it early in the morning and you'll see it filled with locals playing mahjong, flying kites, practising Tai Chi, playing in small musical ensembles and it's all a fantastic glimpse into daily life in China. Continue through the park to get to the Tombs and have a wander around inside. Very well laid out, it certainly makes for a perfect day out. You might need to take a taxi, however, even with a basic grasp of Chinese the words "Beiling" will get you here.

Moving to more modern architecture a visit to the September

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