Shenyang Imperial Palace (shěn yáng gù gōng 沈阳故宫), or named Houjin Imperial Palace (hòu jīn gù gōng 后金故宫) or Shengjing Imperial Palace (shèng jīng gū gòng 盛京故宫), is the only existing royal palace in China outside of the Forbidden City in Beijing. Covering an area of more than 60,000 square meters, the palace consists of more than 300 rooms, formed around 20 courtyards.The palace is largely modeled after Beijing's Forbidden City, but architecturally blends intricate Mongolian and Tibetan influenced carvings favored by the early Qing (qīng 清) and has special historical, artistic and scientific values.

History
The streets in the old Shenyang city are shaped as a character jing (jǐng 井), whose middle stands the Shenyang Imperial Palace. According to the natural layout and the sequences of the constructions, the palace can be divided into three sections. The eastern section, which was built when Nurhaci (nǔ ěr hā chì 努尔哈赤) was in power,is the earliest-built part in the palace, the middle section was constructed by his son Huangtaiji (huáng tài jí 皇太极), and the western section was mainly expanded by Qianlong (qián lóng 乾隆). Each section boasts of unique characteristics. The main structure of the palace was built in 1625 and finished in 1636. Emperors Kangxi (kāng xī 康熙) and Qianlong made it to its present size and added Han (hàn 汉) and Mongol architectural styles to its original Manchu style.

Dazheng Hall
On the eastern section is the oldest and most impressive structure in the palace Dazheng Hall (dà zhèng diàn 大政殿), which is commonly called the Eight-Square Hall (bā jiǎo diàn 八角殿). Under the Hall, it has Buddhist seat foundation and surrounded by bluestone rails with a variety of fine carving. The inside of the hall is bright with the sunshine penetrating from the top. The roof of the hall is covered by yellow glazed tiles edged with a green border. Important activities as ascending the throne, enacting edicts, and welcoming victorious generals and soldiers were held here.

Pavilions of Ten Kings
There are ten square pavilions arranged on the east and west of Dazheng Hall, known as Pavilions of Ten Kings, or Shiwang Pavilion (shí wáng tíng 十王亭). It is a unique characteristic of the layout for the palace architecture of ancient China. The two pavilions closest to the hall display the offices of the Zuoyiwang (zuǒ yì wáng 左翼王) and Youyiwang (yòu yì wáng 右翼王), while the remaining eight pavilions display various Qing weaponry and replicas of the armor and the colorful banners (two each of yellow, red, blue, and white) of the eight divisions of the Manchu army.

Dazheng Hall is architecturally a pavilion as well; we call it a hall because it’s much larger and more luxurious. These layouts of eleven pavilions are based on the ethnic temps. From movable temps to fixed pavilion, we can see the development of Manchu culture.

Chongzheng Hall & Fenghuang Tower
The Chongzheng Hall (chóng zhèng diàn 崇政殿), also widely known as Gold Bell Hall (jīn luán diàn 金銮殿), is located at the midmost of the front yard on the central axis. It was built during the Tiancong (tiān cōng 天聪) reign (1627-1636) in the late Jin dynasty (jīn cháo 金朝). The hall is made by wood all over and has the front and rear porches and is surrounded by the stone railing carved with kylins, lions, sunflowers, lotuses and so on. The pillars in the hall are round and two of them are connected with a carved dragon. Hence the practicality and decoration are combined together, it makes the architecture appearance more pleasing to the eye as well as adding the imperial spirit to the hall. It was used to handle daily affairs and meet foreign envoys and representatives.
The gate tower called Fenghuang Tower (fèng huáng lóu 凤凰楼) is in the north of the Chongzheng Hall and it is the highest building in the palace. Therefore, it is one of the "Eight Sights" in the old Shenyang city.

Wensu Pavilion
Wensu Pavilion (wén sù gé 文溯阁) is the principal architecture on the west axis of the Shenyang Imperial Palace. It was specially used for treasuring up Sikuquanshu (sì kù quán shū 四库全书) and also the place where the emperors read books when they visited Shengjing on their eastern tours. Sikuquanshu is a large-scale collection compiled in the Qianlong reign, which had taken 10 years to complete since 1772 of the Qianlong reign. Siku means four branches, including jing (jīng 经) shi (shǐ 史) zǐ (zi 子) and ji (jí 集). It is the main sorting methods since Tang dynasty (táng cháo 唐朝).

After many large-scale repairs, Shenyang Imperial Palace now becomes the Imperial Palace Museum of Shenyang. In addition to its ancient palace complexes, it is also well known at home and abroad for the abundant treasures. As the second most well-preserved extant imperial palace complex, it attracts streams of tourists to visit and study.

Address: No. 171, Shenyang Road (shěn yáng lù 沈阳路), Shenhe District (shěn hé qū 沈河区), Shenyang City.
Transportation: Take bus No.7 or trolley bus No.13 at the south railway station.
Admission fee: CNY 50
Opening hour: 8:00 to 17:00
Attractions nearby: Marshal Zhang’s Mansion (zhāng shì shuài fǔ 张氏帅府)
Tel: 86-024-24852012
Tips:
• Give yourself at least one hour.
• The snow-covered landscape is really magnificent.
• The commercial street Zhongjie (zhoōng jiē 中街) is nearby, go for shopping after traveling is a good choice.