1、1Reader F An Introduction to Liaoning ProvinceIt will mainly focus on the northeast of China, introducing Liaoning province.Liaoning Province is located in the south of the Northeast of China, with the LiaoheRiver flowing through it, its northern and central parts are plains; the eastern andwestern
2、parts are hilly areas; and the southern part covers the Liaodong Peninsulawhich borders on the Bohai Sea in the west and Yellow Sea in the east. The fourseasons are distinctive in the Province, each being unique in its own way. Thepopulation is 42 million (2004), consisting of some thirty nationalit
3、ies such asthe Manchu, Mongolian, Hui and Koreannationalities.Climate of Liaoning Province has a temperate, continental-type monsoon climate,with the mean temperature of the being 6C to 11C (42.8 F to 51.8 F). Theminimum temperature in January, the coldest month, can be as low as -30C ( -22 F)while
4、the maximum temperature can reach as high as 35C (95 F) in July, the hottestmonth in the year. The frost-free period lasts 130 to 180 days averagely. The annualrainfall in Liaoning ranges from 400mm to 1000mm.The Province of Liaoning has a long history behind it. As early as 1600 B.C, what isthe Pro
5、vince now was already part of the territory of the Shang Dynasty (1766 B.C. to1122 B.C.). In the various dynasties that followed, administrative set-ups wereestablished here, thus leaving many historical relics for today. The Province is thebirthplace of the Manchu nationality, boating many well-pre
6、served imperial palacesand tombs built in the Manchu style in the early days of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).Liaoning was once a colony of imperialism. From the late 19th century to the 1940s,Russian and Japanese aggressors carried out frenzied wars here, plunging the Chinesepeople into deep miseries. T
7、he imperialists exploited cheap labor. And local industrieshad a very strong colonial nature, with no processing capabilities at all. In the 1940s,amidst the flames of Chinese peoples struggle for national liberation, imperialismwas overthrown in the Northeast and Liaoning was liberated. Now Liaonin
8、g Provincehas been turned into a centre of heavy industry with metallurgy, machine-building,coal, electricity, petroleum and industry as the main branches.Liaoning is richly-endowed and its products have rich local characteristics. Ginseng,sable fur and furry antler, famed as the “three great treasu
9、res of the Northeast”, areimportant exports of the Province. Other famous local specialities include tussah silk(an ideal material for blouse, shirt, skirt, “kimono” dress, curtain, table-cloth,quilt-cover, etc), apples (juicy and delicious, exported in quantities), prawn, seacucumbers and abalone (
10、plentiful in the coastal areas). In addition, local arts andcrafts are also well-known, such as jade and black amber carving, amber ornaments,glassware, and feather patchwork, shell carving pictures, artistic ceramics, scrolls andcalligraphy, etc.Shenyang: A Fusion of History and Industry2Shenyang i
11、s the largest city in northeast China, and is an important Chinese industrialbasic and historical city. In 1625, Nurhachi, the Manchurian leader who was also thefounder of the Qing Dynasty of China, relocated his capital to Shenyang. In 1636,Emperor Huangtaiji (Abahai) established the Qing Dynasty i
12、n this city. In 1644, Qingtroops entered Shanhai Pass and the capital of the Qing Dynasty was relocated toBeijing, while Shenyang became a provisional capital. The cultural remnants of theManchurians thus became the prominent features of Shenyang. One of these is theShenyang Imperial Palace. Among t
13、he existing imperial architectures of China,Shenyang Imperial Palace is only second to the Forbidden City of Beijing, in terms ofits scale and standards of preservation. Shenyang Imperial Palace stands out from thetypical design of a traditional Chinese palace as its design was originated from theMa
14、nchu tent, and is rich in nomadic cultural flavor. For instance, the bedchamber ofthe emperor and empress was built higher than the main hall of the palace. This is anextension of a living habit of the Manchurians as nomads whereby a higher groundwas frequently chosen as the living quarters. Besides
15、 this feature, Dazheng Hall, themain room where the emperors throne was placed, located to the east of ShenyangImperial Palace, is a big hall that resembles a pavilion. The hall is elaborateddecorated and luxuriously furnished, and it used to be the office of the emperor, andalso used as a ceremonia
16、l hall. There are 10 smaller pavilion-style halls at both sidesof Dazheng Hall, and they were the offices of the court officials. Spread out like theshape of a soaring condor, and arranged in a north-south axis, these 11 pavilions arethe embodiment of 11 Manchu tents. They manifested the cultural ev
17、olution of anomadic tribe, from a people who constantly migrated in search of grazing grounds,to a life of permanent settlement.The main structure of Shenyang Imperial Palace was partially built in 1625. Duringthe period of the QingDynasty, Emperor Kangxi, Emperor Yongzheng, and EmperorQianlong carr
18、ied out renovation and additional constructions to it. As a result, theimperial palace en-compassed the architectural styles of the Han people, theManchurians, the Mongolians, the Muslims, and the Tibetans.In July 2004, Shenyang Imperial Palace became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Simultaneously, the
19、 mausoleum of Emperor Nurhachi and his empress Xiaociknownas Fu Ling, and the mausoleum of Emperor Huangtaiji and his empress Ruiwen,known as ZhaoLing, were also listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. With theprestigious status attached to the cultural heritage of the Manchu people, Shenyangbecame t
20、he only city in China that is described as the “City of Qing Culture”.Shenyang Imperial Palace and the two imperial mausoleums are important sourceswhere many researchers begin their study of Qing Dynasty culture. It is frequentlyvisited by researchers from all over the world. For the foreign visito
21、rs, not only dothey find valuable and authentic Qing artifacts that aid in their researches and study,but they also discover another prominent feature of the city, that is, the industrialculture.3Since the 1950s and 1960s, Shenyang is the base of Chinas heavy industry. It washere that China designed
22、 and manufactured its first jet fighter, ground-assault trainingaircraft, as well as the first ground-to-air missile. In addition, Shenyang also has theexpertise of producing the worlds most sophisticated spare parts for civil aircraftsand the most dexterous robots.Industrialization had given Shenya
23、ng its culture and infrastructure. A decade ago, halfof the city of Shenyang was dotted with chimneys of the closely located factories.They were the manufacturers of all the machines that were supplied to differentindustries in China. Employment opportunities in these industrial estates were vast,an
24、d every day, scores of factory workers were seen riding their bicycles to and fromwork, creating a bustling scene in the city.Today, such a scene can no longer be seen in Shenyang Factories of more than half acentury old are now left vacant, bearing witness to the citys history and development.They
25、have become historical sites where visitors plan in their travel itinerary toShenyang, and occupy an indispensable place in the citys cultural history.In recent years, Shenyang has, from a traditional industrial city, transformed into aneco-city. In 2006, Shenyang successfully held an international
26、horticultural exposition.The scale of the exposition was astounding, and the exposition holds the record ofbeing the worlds largest, in terms of size and variety. It occupies a total area of 5.3square kilometers, and comprises 100 landscaped gardens. It featured traditionalChinese gardens, as well a
27、s gardens that were rich in international flavors Included inthe exposition were rare species of plants.Places of Interests and Tourist Attractions in LiaoningThere are many places of historical interest and scenic spots in Liaoning. The citiesof Shenyang, Dalian, Anshan, Fushun, Jinzhou, Yingkou an
28、d Benxi are open toforeign tourists, each attracting tourists in its own way.The Imperial Palace in ShenyangThe Imperial Palace covers an area of over 60,000 square metres, with some 300rooms in 70 buildings which are dispersed in a dozen courtyards. It is the bestpreserved group of imperial structu
29、res in the country next to the Palace Museum inBeijing, Recalling the style and lay-out of the latter, these buildings give expression tothe brilliant achievements in architecture scored by the Man and Han nationalities intheir cultural exchanges. There were altogether five imperial tombs in the Qin
30、gdynasty. Two of them, the Eastern and Western Tombs are located in Hebei Provincewhile the other three the Yongling, Fuling and Zhaoling Tombs are all located inLiaoning Province. Surrounded by pines, the three tombs are rather impressive withtheir architecture typical of the Man nationality style.
31、The Pearl of Northern China: Dalian4Surrounded by the Yellow Sea and inland Bohai Sea, Dalian has rich marineresources. The seafood here is equal to its southern counterpart in GuangdongProvince and there are numerous restaurants in the city providing a wide variety oftop-quality seafood at very rea
32、sonable prices. Numerous bathing places and beachesin the city are popular venues for the locals to relax from everyday work and stress.Young people, like those in many other metropolitan cities in China are trend pursuerswho spend their evenings in bars and pubs throughout the city.The Qianshan (Th
33、ousand) Mountain in AnshanThe name Qianshan literally means Thousand mountains. This is actually anabbreviation of the full name, Thousand Lotus Flower Mountains. According tolegend, a long time ago the four corners of the sky collapsed. TheGoddess Nwa wanted to save the people living below so she p
34、atched up the sky withstones. One stone was accidentally dropped to the ground where is splashed, throwingthe earth into thousands of peaks in the shape of a lotus blossom. Thus Nwa createdQianshan. The park area of 44 sq.km, is filled with both Buddhist and Taoist temples,monasteries and nunneries.
35、 Here is one of few locations where both religions arefound sharing the same site. Among the peaks, a naturally wrought statue of theBuddha stands 70 meters high. It is claimed to be largest naturally occurring imageof Maitreya Buddha in the world.The area has a long history of religious worship dat
36、ing back to the Tang dynasty ofChina. The site was enhanced during both Ming and Qing dynasties. The revolutionsof the twentieth century saw the site abandoned and some buildings damaged. Thepark has since be restored and expanded with new Pagoda and temples for theMaitreya Buddha.At its highest poi
37、nt, Qianshan reaches an elevation of 708.3 metres. The park isdensely wooded with 95% of the area covered by forests. Over ten thousand of thepine trees have been estimated to be older than 100 years in age. Rare flora and faunaare found here along with a large number of plants used in traditional C
38、hinesemedicines. Over a hundred different species of birds can be observed in the parkincluding the rare black-headed stork.Among Qianshans scenic spots is a new discovery a mountain which has beenshaped by nature in such a way that it resembles the Maitreya Buddha. The Buddhastands 70 metres high a
39、nd 46 metres wide and is claimed to be the largest naturallyoccurring image of Maitreya Buddha in the world. Several temples have been built onthe peaks overlooking the Maitreya Buddha. These include: The Pagoda of Maitreya,Great Buddha Temple, Pavilion of Buddha, Greeting Gate, Holographic BuddhistCharacter and Tachibana Hoxdox. The park has become the venue for the QianshanGreat Buddha Festival in June every year.
