Liaoning 辽宁Liáoníng

Where the Qing dynasty began, plus breezy seaside Dalian

Type: Province
Capital: Shenyang
Featured places: 2
Cities and prefectures: 14
Listed sites: 2416 rated 5A · 155 rated 4A · 101 national heritage

About Liaoning

Before they ruled all of China, the Manchu founders of the Qing dynasty built a palace in Shenyang, a compact cousin of Beijing's Forbidden City, and their imperial tombs lie nearby. On the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula, Dalian is a breezy port of seafront drives, old tram lines and grand circular squares. Through much of the twentieth century the province's mines, mills and railways made it the engine of Chinese heavy industry.

Liaoning at a glance

Area: 145,900 km²
Population: 42.6 million 2020
Highest point: Mount Huabozi 花脖子山1,336 m
Borders: Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, North Korea

Area, population and highest point from Wikidata; the population is the latest census or official estimate there.

What to eat in Liaoning

Laobian dumplings (老边饺子)
Shenyang chicken racks (鸡架)
Dalian pan-fried starch jelly (焖子)

Places to visit in Liaoning

Mukden Palace 沈阳故宫

The Manchu palace where the Qing dynasty was proclaimed, years before it took Beijing

Best time: May–Oct · Time needed: 2–3 hours · 4A scenic area · National heritage site · UNESCO World Heritage
Panjin Red Beach 红海滩风景廊道

Tidal flats turned crimson by seepweed, crossed by boardwalks through the Liaohe delta

Best time: Mid-Sep–mid-Oct · Time needed: Half a day · 5A scenic area

Listed sites in Liaoning

241 sites in Liaoning are on the official lists, 6 of them rated 5A and 101 protected as national heritage. They are listed by city, with what each is and how to get there.

All 241 listed sites in Liaoning

Cities and prefectures of Liaoning

Anshan 鞍山 City
Steel city beside the granite peaks and old temples of Qianshan
Benxi 本溪 City
Boats on an underground river, maple valleys and the first Goguryeo capital
Chaoyang 朝阳 City
China's fossil city, with Hongshan ritual sites and the pagodas of Longcheng
Dalian 大连 City
A port laid out by Russia and Japan, with Lüshun's forts and summer beaches
Dandong 丹东 City
A riverside city looking across the Yalu to North Korea
Fushun 抚顺 City
'Capital of coal' and homeland of the Qing founders
Fuxin 阜新 City
Coal, agate and a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in a Mongol autonomous county
Huludao 葫芦岛 City
A walled Ming garrison town, bay beaches and the Great Wall on the Hebei border
Jinzhou 锦州 City
Liao temples, the guardian mountain of the north and a tidal island shrine
Liaoyang 辽阳 City
One of the north-east's oldest cities, crowned by a 70-metre Liao pagoda
Panjin 盘锦 City
Reed marsh, rice fields and red seepweed where the Liao River meets the sea
Shenyang 沈阳 City
The Manchu capital before Beijing, with its palace and two imperial tombs
Tieling 铁岭 City
Farm and coal country on the Liao plain, with a steam locomotive museum
Yingkou 营口 City
An old treaty port at the Liao River mouth, with beaches to the south

Before you go

Visas and visa-free entry Can I visit China without a visa?
Paying for things How do I pay for things in China without a Chinese bank account?
Internet and apps Will Google and my other apps work in China?
Trains and 12306 How do I book train tickets in China with a foreign passport?
Book popular sights early Which sights in China need booking in advance, and how?
When to go When is the best time to visit China?

On the map

Open Liaoning on the illustrated map to see where its places sit, how far apart they are, and to add them to a trip.

Open Liaoning on the map