Chaoyang: Pagodas, History and Landscape

Chaoyang combines impressive pagodas and historic city sites with museums and a distinctive forest landscape. Its attractions range from brick reliefs and archaeological finds to sweeping greenery and riverbanks. When planning, you can decide whether to focus your stay more on culture or on the landscape.

Pagodas and Traces of the Past

The North Pagoda of Chaoyang is a 42.6-meter-high, 13-story brick pagoda. Closely spaced eaves and brick reliefs define its main structure. Near Chaoyang, it was built around 485 AD on the site of the former palace of Longcheng from the Sanyan period. Its architectural form brings the history of the area to life: a pagoda lets you compare its height, stories and brickwork directly.

The South Pagoda, also near Chaoyang, has its own distinctive architectural form. This square, hollow brick pagoda dates from the Liao period, faces south and has 13 closely spaced roof levels. It is recognized as a provincial-level cultural relic. In October 2004, a burial chamber from the Liao period was discovered near the pagoda during construction work for underground utilities. It contained Buddhist relics and other Buddhist artifacts.

Youshun Temple is also located near Chaoyang. Construction began in 1699, and the temple was completed eight years later. On May 25, 2006, it was included in the sixth group of nationally significant cultural relics in China as a Qing-period building. Together with the pagodas, the temple represents several historical periods that can be seen in the area's surviving architecture.

Old Town, Streets and Museum Collections

Chaoyang Old Town lies in the central part of Shuangta District and is a provincially recognized historic and cultural quarter. It originated during the Former Yan period and within the historical context of the Eastern Jin and the Sixteen Kingdoms. The protected core area covers 28.89 hectares. Murong Street, formerly called Shuangta Ancient Street, connects the South and North Pagodas, Youshun Temple, Guandi Temple and the ruins of Yandu's city wall.

The Chaoyang North Pagoda Museum was founded in December 1990. Its current building was rebuilt in 2003 and completed in 2006; its design is in the style of the Han and Tang periods. The permanent exhibition “古塔千秋展” draws on more than 200 selected finds from the North Pagoda and surrounding sites. It explores the origins, architectural forms and development of Chinese pagodas, as well as their historical significance.

The collections of the Chaoyang Museum offer further historical perspectives. Among the objects on display are jade artifacts from the Hongshan culture, ritual bronze vessels from the Shang and Zhou periods, and horse tack and hair ornaments from the Sanyan period. Other exhibits include Tang Sancai, Liao-Khitan pottery, and paintings from the Ming and Qing periods. For those interested in the material traces of different eras, the collections offer a range of object types and styles alongside the pagodas and city history.

Forest Landscape and Riverbanks

The Phoenix Mountain Tourist Area lies east of Chaoyang's urban area and borders the central city. It covers 67.84 square kilometers and is both a National Forest Park and an AAAA-rated scenic area. The area contains 27 archaeological sites from different periods, including sites of the Hongshan and Xiajiadian cultures, as well as 18 cultural heritage attractions. Fengguan offers a sweeping view of the landscape.

A total of 790 plant species have been recorded in the Phoenix Mountain Tourist Area near Chaoyang: 763 angiosperms, 12 gymnosperms and 15 fern species. Forest covers 85 percent of the area. These figures offer a different way to appreciate the region than its architecture and museum collections, focusing instead on plant diversity and forest cover. Along the upgraded urban stretch of the Daling River, long river embankments, dense vegetation, winding paths, broad expanses of water and numerous seagulls shape the landscape.

Plan Your Stay Around Your Interests

When looking for a vacation rental in Chaoyang, it helps to first decide what kind of stay you want. If you are mainly interested in pagodas, temples, the old town and museum collections, culture and history take center stage. For a stay focused more on scenery, Phoenix Mountain and the Daling River offer different attractions: forests, plants, views and expanses of water. Choose your accommodation based on which of these interests will shape your stay.

For broader travel planning, Shuangta District is also a useful point of reference. The airport, high-speed rail and national and provincial roads connect the region with its surroundings. Direct flights connect the region with Shanghai. By high-speed train, the journey takes 1.5 hours to Shenyang, two hours to Dalian and two hours to Beijing. Shuangta is a transport hub linking China's central region, the northeast and Inner Mongolia.

Discover more destinations: Tieling, Dandong, Shenyang, Jinzhou, Dalian, Anshan, Liaoyang, Fushun.

For the broader travel overview: Liaoning.