Hetuala City (hè tú ā lā chéng 赫图阿拉城) is located in Yongling Town (yǒng líng zhèn 永陵镇) of Xinbin Manchu Autonomous County (xīn bīn mǎn zú zì zhì xiàn 新宾满族自治县) in Liaoning Province. The word Hetuala in fact is from Manchu Language meaning a flat top hummock. It was the very first capital city of the Late Jin (hòu jīn 后金) Dynasty as well as the last mountain city in Chinese history, moreover, it is the best-preserved Manchu city until now. Hetuala, the center of politics, economy, military, culture and diplomacy of Late Jin, was famed as the birthplace of Qing Dynasty (qīng cháo 清朝) and the cradle of the thrift of Manchuria. It has great value in the study of history, art, society and culture.

History
Constructed in 1603, Hetuala City is an ancient city of 400 years. In 1616, the first day of the 44th ruling year of Ming dynasty according to Chinese lunar calendar, Nurhaci ascent the throne and established Late Jin Dynasty. The 8th year of Tiancong (tiān cōng 天聪), it was addressed by Hungtaiji (huáng tài jí 皇太极), a later emperor, as the favor of God. This city becomes well-known not only because it is the birthplace of Nurhaci, the forefather of Qing dynasty, but because it used to be the capital of the number one powerful empire.
Hetuala City is divided into an inner city and an outside city. In the north of the inner city situates the heart of the whole city—Han Gong Da Ya Men (hàn gōng dà yá mén 汉宫大衙门), the certain place for Nurhaci to ascend the throne in 1616. The layout of the room is full of the royal atmosphere. There are two ponds sit on both sides of the palace named the eyes of the dragon.

The middle of the inner city is basin-liked and the only drinking water well named Hanwang Well (hǎn wáng jǐng 罕王井) is here. In the southwest of the city locates Pujue Temple (pǔ jué sì 普觉寺), also known as Guandi Temple (guān dì miào 关帝庙). It has vivid sculptures and paintings inside the temple. Every April 18th of Chinese lunar calendar when the temple fair is held, people from different cities come here to pray and play.
 

Hetuala City is neighbored by Shenyang (shěn yáng 沈阳), Tieling (tiě lǐng 铁岭), Jilin (jí lín 吉林), Dandong (dān dōng 丹东), Benxi (běn xī 本溪) and etc which make it very convenient to travel around. The scenic spot has beautiful landscape and has everything you need when travel. Plus, you can enjoy Manchu style song and dance performance whenever you come. There’s a Manchu Folk-Custom Garden which holds religion activities, and a custom museum showing people’s life style in the past.

Location: 4 km away from southeast Yongling County.
Tel: 86-0413-5154706
Transportation: Take coach at North or South Railway Station of Shenyang, go along Shenfu Highway (shěn fǔ gāo sù 沈抚高速) and line 202 to get to scenic area directly.(The time from Shenyang to Hetuala City is about 2.5 hours). If you go from other places, please follow the map. SHOW MAP
Opening hours: 9: 00-17:00
Admission fee: CNY 60. Another CNY 3 for Pujue Temple，and if you want to see the Manchu wedding performance, you should pay CNY 5.
Tips:
• Give yourself at least two or three hours.
• It has a lot of special local product like ginseng, pilose antler and mushroom.
• You can taste Manchu specialty “Ba Die Ba Wan (bā dié bā wàn八碟八碗)" meaning eight dishes and eight bowls of food.