Understand
This is an ancient city with a long history going back over 2400 years. Liaoyang had been the major city of Liaodong eastern Liaoning province since the Waring States Period 475-221 BC. When Nurhachi united the Manchurian tribes and founded the Late Jin Dynasty, Nurhachi moved his capital to Liaoning. An imperial palace was built there in 1621. The new capital was renamed Dongjing East Capital. The city measured 900m east to west and 840m north to south. The city wall was 11 metres high with two gates on either side. However, this palace was barely completed when Nurhachi moved his court yet again to the city of Shenyang in 1625. Nowadays, little remains of the old palace but some walls and gates are visible. In 1904, Battle of Liaoyang was fought as one of the major battles of the Russo-Japanese War. After the end of the second world war and the Chinese civil war, Liaoyang became a centre for heavy industrial development. It is somewhat overshadowed by the now larger neighbours of Shenyang and Anshan but remains one of the key cities of Liaoning province.