Liaoning is a province of mountains and plains in northeast China. It has Inner Mongolia and North Korea as two of its borders and also rests on the Bohai Sea to the south.
Liaoning Province is well connected with other provinces and Beijing; new bullet trains run to Shenyang, the Liaoning capital, from Beijing in just 4 hours, 30 minutes. In addition, major highways also link up with Inner Mongolia.
Shenyang is Liaoning’s largest city, as well as being its capital, and lies roughly in the centre of the province. It has good air and rail connections with Beijing and comes with many interesting historical attractions and good shopping. The major landmark in Shenyang is the UNESCO Imperial Palace, which is on par with Beijing’s Forbidden City.
Liaoning’s second city is that of touristy Dalian on the end of a peninsular. Dalian is one of China’s most interesting cities owing to its diversity. It lies on the coast and comes with nice beaches, while the city center buzzes with good shopping and nightlife. There are also many districts in town full of interesting Japanese and Russian buildings.
Anshan is the third city of Liaoning and is not really worth a look, bar Qianshan National Park. Meaning ‘thousand mountains’, this park is as rugged as they come with jagged peaks, deep valleys, and a plethora of temples and monasteries.
Benxi is another worthwhile city to see in Liaoning. It is in the central section along Shenyang, Anshan, and Fushun and boasts the Benxi Water Cave, the largest water cave in Asia that you can boat on.
Those who fancy visiting North Korea should head for the city of Dandong in the east. It is a border town between Liaoning and North Pyongan in the DPRK and comes with the Sino-Korea Friendship Bridge and the nearby Tiger Mountain Great Wall (Hushan Great Wall).
Getting There & Away
The best way to Liaoning is to fly and there are four airports: Shenyang Taoxian International Airport, Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport, Jinzhou Airport, and Dandong Airport. Shenyang and Dalian are the main airports with international connections. Flight time from Beijing to Shenyang is about an hour.
Shenyang is also well connected to the Chinese capital by rail, with new high-speed bullet trains running from Beijing in 4 hours, 30 minutes. You can also come in from the northwest on the Trans-Mongolian Railway via Russia, Outer Mongolia, and Inner Mongolia. Coaches serve Liaoning from Beijing in 8 hours.