Xinglongtai District 兴隆台区

An oilfield district

The district government describes the Liaohe Oilfield as China's third-largest and its largest base for heavy and high-pour-point crude. The oilfield shaped the map: Xinglongtai's subdistricts were drawn around the oilfield's operating units, so their boundaries are irregular and enclaves are scattered across the city. Shencai subdistrict (沈采街道) lies inside Shenyang (沈阳), and part of Huanxiling subdistrict (欢喜岭街道) lies in Linghai (凌海市).

What to see

In the east of the district, the Liaohe International Art District (辽河国际艺术区) has a planned area of 5 square kilometres. It grew around the Liaohe Art Museum (辽河美术馆), built in 2006. The Liaohe Couplet Calligraphy Museum (辽河楹联书法博物馆), also in the quarter, opened on 21 October 2020; China Daily calls it China's first museum group devoted to handwritten couplets. Its exhibits come from the local collector Zu Jidong (祖继东): more than 5,000 couplets from the Ming to the Republican era, including pieces attributed to the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors, Zeng Guofan (曾国藩), Li Hongzhang (李鸿章), Qi Baishi (齐白石) and Zhang Daqian (张大千). The quarter also holds the Liaohe Folk Museum (辽河民俗博物馆), a museum of historic land and house deeds (辽河房地契博物馆), and Guangsha Art Street (广厦艺术街), a 4A-rated street of art studios and exhibitions that has drawn more than 170 painters and art organisations. In the evening the Ministry of Culture and Tourism describes 150 stalls along the street, with street performers and craft stands.

In the south of the district, Bainian Fu Street (百年福街) and the Liaohekou Old Street (辽河口老街) offer regional food and a night market. In the west, the Dingxiang Ecological Tourism Area (鼎翔生态旅游区), 26.6 square kilometres, combines reed marsh and crab flats, a farm park and the Taiping River (太平河) waterfront; it is a 4A scenic area.

Getting oriented

The Beijing–Shenyang, Shenyang–Dalian and Dandong–Xilinhot expressways meet in the district.

Highlights

• Liaohe Couplet Calligraphy Museum 辽河楹联书法博物馆: More than 5,000 Ming-to-Republican couplets; opened October 2020.
• Liaohe Art Museum 辽河美术馆: Built in 2006; the arts quarter grew around it.
• Guangsha Art Street 广厦艺术街: 4A-rated street of art studios and exhibitions with evening stalls.
• Dingxiang Ecological Tourism Area 鼎翔生态旅游区: Reed marsh, crab flats and Taiping River waterfront; 4A scenic area.
• Liaohe Folk Museum 辽河民俗博物馆: 3A-rated museum in the eastern arts quarter.