Shenyang Itinerary: 9.18 museum, haircut & a police encounter (Liaoning Part 2)

Been waiting? This post – Shenyang itinerary (Part 2) – will cover what we did on our last two days in Shenyang, including an incident involving the police. :(

Read Liaoning Part 1 first for a better story flow. And when you are ready, scroll right through to continue Part 2 of our Liaoning travelogue!

Shenyang things to do: My 14-Day Liaoning, China itinerary (Part 1)

Day 3: 9.18 Historical Museum & Hongmei Cultural Park 

Check our our lunch at Yitian Holiday World (沈阳益田假日世界) located opposite our hotel. This beef and scramble egg over rice from Haiyingchun (海迎春虾饺) cost just ¥19 after Dianping discount.

But hor, so far, our request for “less rice” has always been “forgotten” in China. LOL! I really feel that businesses in China are reluctant to give you less for what you’ve paid for.

The 9.18 Historical Museum: Is it gory? 

This 9.18 Historical museum (九·一八历史博物馆) was high on my must-visit list in Shenyang. I’d wanted to learn more about the history of Japanese’ invasion of China.

From Douyin sources, we had thought the museum would present gory and disturbing exhibits. I actually took a long time to persuade my partner to join me.

Well, he did eventually, and – good for him – both of us left without feeling emotionally disturbed. It wasn’t that gory! 

TIP: If you encounter difficulty booking entry to the 9.18 museum via Wechat, try using Ctrip app. It solved the IC-entry format issue for us. Entry is free, but reservation is required.

The museum felt more educational than gory. And there were a tad too much readings required (mostly in Chinese), plus photos were quite blurry. Personally, I had wished the museum would share more about the 9.18 incident. 

Instead, it felt like the museum was telling the full war story from 1930 to WWII, including the dropping of atomic bombs in Japan.

TIP: Many would combine 9.18 with another popular 4A attraction – BeilinPark (北陵公园), as both are located at the northern part of the city.

There, you can visit the mausoleum of Emperor Huangtaiji and Empress Xiaozhuang – see latest admission price. 

Failed “Coffee Street” experience: Shenyang Itinerary

The next Shenyang itinerary was to visit a “Coffee Street” (咖啡特色街). Not sure if we were here during the wrong season, the coffee vibe was missing and the streets were too quiet (unlike the one in Dalian’s Nanjing Street which I’ll share later). 

With the cafes looking so deserted, we decided to walk to the nearest Luckin instead. At least, we wouldn’t be the only customers in the cafe.

Thankfully, my order of Osmanthus Fermented Rice Latte was yummy!

Shenyang traffic: Traffic in Shenyang was quite bad. We often had to wait a long time for DiDi (similar to Jinan city). And the DiDi would then take a long time to reach the destination. 

Therefore, many trips were made via the subway. But key attractions are often at least 1km walk from the nearest subway. Bear this in mind especially if you are travelling with elder folks or kids.

Hongmei Cultural Park: Relax, coffee & take nice photos 

Rated as a 3A attraction, Hongmei Cultural Park (红梅文创园) exuded a serene and tranquil atmosphere, with nice cafes and photo-friendly spots.

We were hungry by the time we arrived and popped into a lovely restaurant serving noodles (伴面,红梅店)).

Totally love the restaurant vibe, music and interior decor. Food was decently priced, given its “artistic” location.

After lunch, I would have loved to have coffee at one of the nice cafes here at Hongmei Cultural park, but I was quite full. So we took photos instead!

TIP: Another cultural park in Shenyang is 1905 Cultural and Creative Park (铁西1905文化创意园). You can pop by if you have the time – it’s not too far from Hongmei Cultural Park. See location.

Shopping at Tiexi Mix City Mall

We were overly-ambitious and visited Tiexi Mix City mall (铁西万象汇) despite our tired legs. The plan was to find a cafe and recuperate, but the cafes (mostly located in the basement) were hot and stuffy. 

Without much energy to shop, we decided to return to Zhongjie – our base in Shenyang.

Supper at Zhongjie Pedestrian Street again!

This time around, we walked into one of the “food streets” or alleys in Zhongjie. The Seaweed dumplings (¥19) were delicious.

And beware of the hot, oozing juice from the Beef Biscuit – it dripped onto my skirt.

Both were great food buy! Yummy!

Day 4: Sad incident marred our Shenyang experience 

Imagine being woken up by Luckin Coffee delivered by the hotel’s robot. Except the coffees weren’t meant for us – they’d been sent to the wrong room. And it was so early, around 7am! :(

We called the hotel to retrieve and deliver them to the correct room. 

INFO: In most hotels in China, robots would be used to send items to your room. Your hotel’s phone or the doorbell would ring. You open the door and will be greeted by a cute robot.

Press a button to retrieve the item(s) from its’ “stomach”. Press another button to let him know you are done. Quite a fun experience!

Hmm…why not have breakfast delivered too?

Inspired by the incident (since our sleep was disrupted), we decided to have our breakfast delivered too!

An hour later, our Double McGrill Chicken and Soy Bean milk from McDonald’s were delivered, via Meituan app. :)

Drone “peeping” through a hotel room window?

A sad incident marred my entire Shenyang trip!

Since our hotel room – at Zhongjie x Hotel – was located on the 19th floor and enjoyed unblocked view, I didn’t bother drawing the curtain when changing.

To my utter shock, I saw a drone hovering right outside my 19th floor hotel window. While it appeared small and distant in the photo, it was actually quite near in-person, like 5 metres away (levelled with my room window). 

It remained stationary and only shifted to the right when I attempted to take a photo of it. When I took another photo, it flew away. 

I informed the hotel staff, who appeared dismissive. She even said “It didn’t film me all these while”. I wondered why she would say that as she wasn’t even a guest staying in a hotel room. 

Would a drone wanna film someone working at the reception desk, fully clothed? 

The staff said she could not help further, but would help call the police on our behalf (still not taking responsibility as a hotel as we – the guests – would need to front the police and the incident).

The police came, but…

Having to wait for the police meant a disruption to our day’s plan. Luckily, they didn’t take long to arrive.

But, we found their attitude no different from that of the hotel staff. One officer told us that all drones in China required approval to operate, seemingly suggesting that we were over-worrying.

We asked how one could tell whether the drone hovering outside our 19th-floor hotel window was indeed approved to be there. He told us that we would have to check directly with the relevant drone-approving authority in China. Unfortunately, he couldn’t even recall the name of the agency.

When we explained that we were foreigners and asked if the police could help us contact the relevant authority, he promised to call us back later that day.

Before the officers left, we asked if they needed to take our statements or at least record our names and contact details for documentation purposes. He said there was no need, as he could obtain our details from the hotel.

Well, as expected, we never heard from him again.

I was pretty upset and lost sleep – as I was worried that the footage of me changing clothes would appear on the internet. I was also annoyed at the dismissive attitudes of those handling the incident. Instead of showing empathy or offering reassurance, they seemed more concerned with avoiding responsibility.

Public Service Announcement: Protect yourself

Even if the drone was there for a reason (and did not film hotel guests), I hope no one would encounter what I’ve experienced. 

If you stay in high-rise hotel room with an unblocked view, please draw your curtains when changing clothes.

As for Zhongjie X Hotel (沈阳中街X酒店), I wouldn’t recommend it based on my experience. While the location was convenient, the way this incident was handled left me deeply disappointed. For me, how a hotel responds when something goes wrong matters just as much as the room and location.

Please share this with your loved ones so they won’t end up having their travel experience marred. A holiday should leave us with wonderful memories, not anxiety over our privacy and exposure.

Shenyang’s great hairdo neutralised the day’s sadness

My initial plan for the day was to set off early to get my hair done. Due to the drone incident, I arrived at 藤野造型 hair salon, later than intended.

Located at Yitian Holiday World (沈阳益田假日世界), the hair salon is near to Zhongjie Pedestrian Street. 

Thankfully, the stylist (Mr 浩楠) is one of the best I’ve encountered in China. He gave me a great haircut and did an excellent job with the hair colouring.

What impressed me most was the effort he put into understanding exactly what I wanted. He showed me photos to confirm my preferences and asked clarifying questions when needed. Experienced and confident, he also offered great advice throughout the session.

The staff assisting him were equally friendly and thoughtful. At one point, a staff member even checked if I was tired from sitting for so long and suggested that I could stand up and walk around if I wished. It’s little gestures like these that made the experience more pleasant.

The result? My hair turned out great. My ash-brown colour is still looking great after two months – a stark contrast to my previous hair colouring experience in Yantai city, where the colour faded after just two weeks.

If you’re visiting Shenyang and looking for a good hair salon, I highly recommend 藤野造型 hair salon! For info, I paid around ¥275 (upgraded hair colouring product).

Embrace Zhongjie Street

Instead of visiting more attractions in Shenyang, we decided to fully reap the benefit of staying near Zhongjie, i.e. to stay and explore Zhongjie. 

I did a more thorough shopping, popped into many buildings and bought some apparels and makeup. 

I also went deeper into the food alleys, and ordered a large skewer of Grilled Octopus Claw. 

Bathhouse in Shenyang: A bathhouse visit is a popular tourist experience in Shenyang. Some offer no-frills bathing (vigorous “rubbing” or 搓澡), while others come with add-ons such as buffet and massages.

The hair salon staff recommended 太阳谷汤泉, a no-frills option. He also shared that he visits a bathhouse at least once a week, usually with friends! Else, he would feel uneasy.

Clearly, bathhouses are part of local life. I’ll make time for this authentic experience on my next visit!

Last dinner in Shenyang city

On our way to Shenyang Joy City (大悦城) for dinner, we came across street performers belting out songs to appreciative crowd. 

What’s for dinner? We were drawn by the friendly staff at 隐小罐 eatery. Check out my dinner – Sour Fish Yunnan Vermicelli.

You can also help yourself to free flow of “small dishes”, such as cabbage and beansprout. All in all, we paid about ¥70 for two mains and a side (fried chicken strips). 

TIP: Another popular Shenyang attraction is Liaoning Provincial Museum (辽宁省博物馆). Located at the southern part of the city, you can check it out if you have the time – see location. Entry is free! 

Yet another mall in Zhongjie vicinity

As if reluctant to leave Shenyang, we walked to yet another mall near Zhongjie. It was already 9pm!

WUYUE (吾悦广场) seemed popular among the youth. I still recall the large number of tea shops located on ground floor. 

After a quick browsing of the mall, I bought yet another Luckin drink “Thai Milk Coffee” to end the day (the only cafe that’s still open). Too bad, the “non-sweet” option was super sweet! :(

Shenyang: My thoughts after 4 days

Leaving some thoughts and impressions of Shenyang after spending four days there:

• Shenyang was so vibrant!
• Lots of KTV outlets
• Doesn’t seem elder-friendly – lots of stairs to climb. Subway station typically only offered escalator up, but not down. You may have to look for the lifts more often than usual.
• Traffic was bad – so it may take a very long time for your DiDi to come, even if it’s just a few km away.
• Lots of walking – Due to the bad traffic, we would sometimes choose to walk or take subway (which brings us to the next point…)
• While the subway was useful, they seemed to be located far (>1km) from key attractions (lots of walking needed)
• Women in Northeast China seemed tall! *Envy* :)

In the next post, you’ll see us heading to Dandong (丹东市). We would be so close to North Korea, and take on a super fun mountain climb. Stayed tuned!

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