Liaoning Province has a long-standing history and time-honored culture tracing back to antiquity. There have been a number of significant archaeological discoveries in the region including human fossils near Dashiqiao and stone tools near Chaoyang. Approximately 6,000 years ago Liaoning entered the New Stone Age and there have been a large quantity of utensils found in Xinle, Shenyang dating from that period. The ruins at Niuhe ridge reveal an early civilized society and places Liaoning as one of the origins of Chinese civilization.
In the 16th century B.C., Liaoning was a neighboring State of the Shang Dynasty and was under the Yan State during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Various dynasties have established their adminstrative institutions in Liaoning and Liaoning was the birthplace of China's last dynasty, the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.). The Imperial Palace and Three Imperial Burial Tombs in Shenyang are from the early Qing Dynasty and reflect the political and cultural, history of the period. The Republic of China followed the Qing Dynasty and in 1929 changed the name of Fengtian Province to Liaoning Province, Liaoning meaning the peaceful valley of the Liaohe River. Liaoning Province is also the site where the Japanese imperial invaders launched their war of aggression against China on September 18, 1931.
Shenyang is a cultural center with a long history. The cultural and entertainment activities are memerizing. There are four opera houses showing Beijing Opera, acrobatics, ballet and folk art. Tourists can learn more about Chinese culture in the city. Shenyang Old Culture Street is the place that everyone, whether a tourist or not, should go. Located in Shenhe District, the street is 1,300 meters long. It goes from Dongshunchenglu to Xishunlu. Large-scale cultural activities are held on a regular schedule everyday during the sumer months. The royal progress, sacrificial offerings, yangko dance, and lion or dragon dancing are just a few examples of rituals that ate performed. If you don't have much time, the royal progress is a must see event. There are over six hundred people participating in the program showing the grand spectacle of the old history through the wedding of the princess to the royal progress of the second emperor of the Qing Dysnasty.
