An aerial view of the Jingdian Pavilion in Shenyang Imperial Palace, Northeast China’s Liaoning province. [Photo/dfic.cn]

On Feb 5, the Jingdian Pavilion in Shenyang Imperial Palace, which had never been open to the public before, welcomed its first group of visitors following restoration. As of Feb 5, all courtyards in the palace are now available for tourists to visit.

Shenyang Imperial Palace, also called Mukden Palace, was built in 1625 as the residence of Nurhaci and his son Hong Taiji, founders of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Shenyang was later used as an accompanying capital after the dynasty moved its capital to Beijing in 1644.

Currently, it is one of the best-preserved palaces in China.

Covering an area of over 60,000 square meters, Shenyang Imperial Palace has a total of 114 ancient buildings and more than 500 rooms, along with collections of valuable porcelain, lacquers, jewelry, writings and paintings, as well as clothing from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).