When I was traveling in Liaoning's provincial capital of Shenyang, the idea of visiting a museum that occupied an entire factory intrigued me.

The admission-free exhibition area occupies what was once a machinery plant in which 12 Japanese firms operated in 1933. It changed names many times after the city was liberated until 1956, when it became known as Shenyang Cast Factory (SCF).

At the time, the 330,000-sq-m plant in which 5,800 employees worked was Asia's biggest foundry.

In early 2007, SCF was relocated to the city's economic and technological development zone. In order to highlight cultural developments of the city's industrial base, the local government decided to preserve its No 1 casting workshop.

Shenyang Imperial Palace is the city's major tourist attraction. Photos by Zhang Wei

 Having opened last June, the 40,000-sq-m museum has a similar vibe to Beijing's 798 Art District. The difference is that 798 is occupied by various galleries and bars, with nothing of the former factories remaining aside from the structures, while both the inside and outside of the foundry have been well-preserved.

"Everything in the workshop is a piece of artwork," the museum's director Li Zhi says.

Entering the 22-m-tall workshop, I felt like I had been transported back to the 1960s. Slogans from the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) were painted in red on the brick walls, and several huge posters were hung there to encourage the proletariat to work hard to defend their homeland.

The building exudes an aura of antiquity with its rusted exhibits but is made lively by shafts of golden afternoon sunlight pouring through the grated windows; one almost expects the doors to open and the workers to march in to assume their posts.

About 1,526 pieces of equipment are on the display here, the heaviest of which weighs 10 tons.

An unexpected find was a T-shaped stage on which Li says several fashion shows have run. The building also serves as a conference hall for business meetings, and many local newlyweds have their wedding photos snapped here.

"Half a century ago, no one wanted to work here, because of the heavy workload and dirty surroundings. The lightest job, which people preferred to take, was operating the crane," Li explains.

The museum also showcases some of the items used by workers in their daily lives, such as a heating stove, rice-steaming box and work clothes.

Fit for a king

Shenyang Imperial Palace (SIP) is a definite must-see for travelers with an interest in ancient history.

Covering an area of more than 60,000 sq m, the complex was built between AD 1625-36 for founding emperor Nurhachi and emperor Huangtaji of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Although it's one-12th the size of Beijing's Imperial Palace, it reveals much about the Man ethnic group that constructed it.

For example, chimneys in the palace were set on the ground rather than on rooftops. And to create at least a sense of security for the royal family, its housing and that of the emperor's concubines were elevated from the main hall to make it easier to spot potential attackers.

Going underground

Autumn is the best time to visit Benxi - the "Capital of the Maple Leaf" - 62 km from Shenyang.

When red leaves carpet its hills and dales, thousands of tourists flock here from all over the country to take in the stunning view.

But for those who miss the season, exploring the mysterious Benxi Water Cave is a must.

The grotto holds one of the world's longest underground rivers, which is more than 5.8-km-long - of which, more than half is open to tourists.

The karst cavern consists of three parts - the dry cave, the water cave and the outlet cave.

The dry cave was discovered first and was used by the Japanese army as a military storehouse in the 1930s. The water cave was not discovered until 1972, when an intrepid local villager ventured there on a bamboo raft.

The inside temperature remains around 12 C year-round, which is comfortably cool in summer. In any other season, however, visitors would need to don jackets for spelunking here.

This underground river is wide enough for two miniature electric boats to simultaneously traverse. Its water is crystal clear but too cold for swimming.

On average, it takes a stalactite a century to grow 1 cm. And these formations coat the walls along the riversides, giving testimony to the awesome power of nature.

Many of these stalactites have taken monikers from Chinese fairy tales. I, for one, was particularly taken with a formation known as "Jade Elephant Playing With Water" and recognized it even before the guide even made mention of it.

As we traversed the lake, occasional drips of water would fall on our heads - an auspicious sign, according to our guide.

The cave is surprisingly well ventilated, and the circulation of the air and humidity makes it so the plants above the grotto grow larger and greener than in surrounding areas.

The cave's original inhabitants were blind fish, bats and snakes - all of which are hard to come by these days.

I was so delighted to catch sight of a few blind fishes near the end of our boating adventure; to me, that was a true sign of good luck.

Set in stone

Liaoning's Anshan city is well known for its iron. But fewer people know the city holds a Guinness record for being home to the world's largest Buddha statute carved from a single piece of jade. An incredible story surrounds the 260.76-ton statue, the raw material for which was discovered in 1960 in jade-rich Xiuyan county.

At first, miners thought it was an ordinary stone and were ready to blow it up to make way for further exploitation; that's when fate intervened. The miners planted the explosives and then took lunch. They returned after eating and were ready to detonate when it suddenly began raining.

The rain triggered a serious mudslide, which dislodged the stone, revealing that it was actually a huge piece of jade, 7.5 m tall, 6.9 m wide and 4.1 m thick.

In 1992, the chunk was relocated to Anshan's Jade Buddha Garden. The move required more than 150 vehicles, including four tractors.

About 120 craftsmen spent a year and a half carving Sakyamuni - the founder of Buddhism - in its front and the Goddess of Mercy on its back.

Anshan is also a destination for hot spring lovers.

Founded in 1950, the Tangganzi Hot Spring Hospital is the fourth largest Chinese rehabilitation centers, covering 640,000 sq m.

Guests here can enjoy wonderful hot springs and natural mineral mud that get as hot as 42 C. The mud is changed regularly, but I dared not to try mud bathing yet, which reminded me of a famous dish from my hometown - "Jiao Hua Ji" - chicken covered with mud and then oven baked.

But it was good fun watching person after person being buried in the mud and enjoying themselves as much as they might have while lying on the beach.

(China Daily)