Shenyang Zhongjie

Shenyang Zhongjie

Shenyang's famous commercial street — Zhongjie, is the city’s earliest-formed commercial center. From 1625 (the fifth year of the Tianqi era in the Ming Dynasty, the tenth year of the Tianming era in the Later Jin Dynasty) to 1631 (the fourth year of the Chongzhen era in the Ming Dynasty, the fifth year of the Tiancong era in the Later Jin Dynasty), the Later Jin Dynasty renovated and expanded the brick city originally built by the Ming Dynasty. Following the traditional Chinese concept of "ancestral temple on the left, altar of land and grain on the right, facing south with markets to the rear," the original two "cross" streets were reconstructed into four streets forming a "well" pattern. These are now Shenyang Road, Zhongjie Road, Chaoyang Street, and Zhengyang Street. At that time, Zhongjie Road was called Siping Street, with a bell tower and a drum tower built on both the east and west sides. The street was 579.3 meters long and 11.7 meters wide. Today, Zhongjie has become the city's first pedestrian commercial street, lined with densely packed shops, bustling trade, and an overall atmosphere of prosperity.

Night Market: Located in the alleyway just east of today’s Changjiang Photography Studio on the south side of the road. It opens when the city lights are aglow and closes when the night is quiet. This is a lively spot for small goods, tobacco, alcohol, tea, snacks, and street food. At night, visitors can find desirable goods here and sample a variety of local snacks.

Gold and Silver Market: Situated in a narrow alley north of today’s Shengjing Hotel, this was Shenyang’s dedicated gold and silver jewelry market. Every morning, jewelry merchants would gather here to sell ornaments and take on processing jobs, making for brisk business.

Copper Market: Located in Tonghang Hutong (now Tonghang Li, Section 2 of Central Road), this was a place for crafting and trading copper and tinware. Because it lies behind the Shenyang Imperial Palace, right at the heart of the old city, it earned the saying “copper-hearted and iron-willed.” A wide range of items were sold here, including coat hooks, incense burners, candlesticks, as well as specially made copper hot pots, kettles, and musical instruments.

Specialty Markets

Leather Market: Located in Pihang Hutong (now Zhonghe Li, Section 2 of Central Road). Historical records offer limited details about its operations. Field investigations reveal that this was a hub for leather production and trade, commonly known as the “East Leather Market,” dealing in goods such as leather clothing, hats, shoes, and horse tack.

Book Market: Situated in the alley to the west of the north side of the Drum Tower. This used to be a concentrated area for selling books, paper, pens, and ink. During the Republican era, Japanese merchants, in an attempt to profit, imitated portraits of Sun Yat-sen and printed them on books and pencils to deceive locals. However, patriotic citizens opted for domestic products, causing a sharp decline in the sales of Japanese goods.

Pear Market: Located in the eastern alley north of the Bell Tower (now near Chang’an Temple). Daily, grocery stores and street vendors came here to purchase goods. During holidays, city residents also visited to buy New Year treats such as candies, pastries, as well as pears, walnuts, and apples.

Bird Market: Found in the first small alley east of the southern side of the Bell Tower (originally called Yuechuang Hutong), this was the site of the bird market and autumn cricket-fighting events. Every morning, the chirping of crickets and birds created a lively atmosphere.

Commercial City

Shenyang Commercial City: It ranked among China’s top ten commercial enterprises for four consecutive years. With a total retail area of 115,000 square meters, it has established long-term business relationships with thousands of renowned companies from China and abroad over the years, offering over 100,000 types of internationally and domestically renowned brands and best-selling products.

New Mart: The New Mart shopping plaza under Dashang Group is located at the intersection of Zhongjie and Dongshuncheng Road. Boasting a prime location, it is a large-scale shopping center integrating shopping, entertainment, supermarkets, and dining.

0101 Trendy Plaza: Situated opposite Shenyang Commercial City, it features distinct modern architectural elements and targets young consumers with fashionable brands. The first floor hosts numerous flagship stores, such as Starbucks, Calvin Klein, BreadTalk, Tissot, and more.

Shenyang Xinglong FamilyMart: It is the largest single commercial complex in Asia, a brand-new large-scale venue integrating shopping, leisure, and entertainment.

Sports Hub: One of the largest sports-oriented malls operated by Pengda Sports in Zhongjie, remodeled from the former Hollyland Mall, offering a comprehensive selection of trendy, sporty, and casual apparel from China and abroad.

COFCO Joy City: Located at the end of East Zhongjie, it is a mega-scale shopping, leisure, dining, and entertainment complex invested in by the central state-owned enterprise COFCO Group. It consists of two buildings connected by an aerial skybridge, featuring numerous flagship stores opening their first locations in Shenyang, such as ZARA, MUJI, Haidilao, and others. The outdoor plaza includes large screens, cafes, leisure walkways, and landscape art pieces, making it a new recreational hotspot for the residents of Shenyang.

Imperial City Plaza: Situated opposite Xinglong FamilyMart, it was developed by Hong Kong’s Hang Lung Properties as its first project in Shenyang (the second being in Municipal Square). Designed by internationally renowned architects, the building is grand and eco-friendly, featuring international high-end fashion brands along with specialty dining options.

The ancient city also had a Stone Market, Grain Market, and others, but these were not located along Zhongjie.