North Tower 北塔 Beita
South Tower 南塔 Nanta
East Tower 东塔 Dongta
West Tower 西塔 Xita
The four towers of Shenyang are really just buddhist temples that acted as the religious pulse of the ancient Manchurian capital.
Below is a map of "Mukden" which is the Manchurian name for Shenyang. The middle of the map shows where the imperial palace is located and exactly 4 km north, south, east, and west are the four Buddhist pagodas.
Old photos of dilapidated towers in the late 1900's.
All four towers are fully restored now and hidden gems to visit (if you can locate them) with very few tourists or locals around.
North Tower "BeiTa"
This is one of the most active towers with traditional Tibetan monks visiting this sacred place. It is full of activity and well maintained. The beautiful pagoda is a hidden gem in Shenyang. It is said to have the best "Feng Shui" and is not overlooked by tourists in the city.
South Tower "NanTa"
This pagoda is surrounded by an active park with merchants selling things and children playing. The concept of this pagoda is to pay tribute to the Goddess of Mercy "Guan Yin". She is the protector of all things and her real followers do not eat beef as cattle help the farmers to plow the fields. Guan Yin is very famous in easter and southern provinces of China including Vietnam and Thailand.
East Tower "DongTa"
This pagoda is one of the last ones renovated. There are little to no people around as the time I visited there were just the caretakers that were finishing the renovations. It was a beautiful day and an amazing tower to look at.
West Tower "XiTa"
This pagoda is right next to the heart of Shenyang's "Korean Town". Xita is known for it's 24 hour charcoal grilled Korean bbq shops, all day saunas and traditional bathing houses, karaoke bars, North Korean restaurants ran by the government with all North Korean staff and female musicians that play modern rock songs, Korean coffee houses, restaurants, and juice bars.
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