Historic city · Industrial centre · Liaoning
Fushun
抚顺
Coal city and homeland of the Qing founders
Fushun is a prefecture-level city east of Shenyang on the Hun River. Its eastern county of Xinbin is where Nurhaci founded the Later Jin state in 1616 and where the Yongling tombs of the Qing imperial ancestors are a UNESCO World Heritage site; the city itself grew up around one of the largest open-cast coal mines in Asia.
Key facts
Overview
Fushun lies in a narrow valley of the Hun River where the Liao plain meets the eastern hills. Its West Open-Pit Mine, worked from the early twentieth century under Japanese management and then by the state, is a vast excavation on the edge of the city and the reason for its growth; it has since been closed and is being turned into a park.
In the hills to the east, in Xinbin Manchu Autonomous County, lie the places where the Qing state began: Nurhaci's first capital at Hetu Ala and the tombs of his ancestors at Yongling.
Names and nicknames
煤都
“coal capital”
From the coal mining that dominated the city from the early twentieth century.
Birthplace of the Qing
清朝发祥地
For Hetu Ala and Yongling in Xinbin county.
History
The Ming used Fushun as a frontier market with the Jurchens; Nurhaci's capture of it in 1618 opened his war against the Ming. The city's coal was developed by Russian and then Japanese companies, and after 1949 it was a pillar of the planned economy. From 1950 to 1959 the Fushun War Criminals Management Centre held Japanese and Manchukuo prisoners, among them the last emperor, Puyi.
1616
Later Jin proclaimed at Hetu Ala
Nurhaci founded his state at his fortified seat in what is now Xinbin county.
1618
Capture of Fushun
Nurhaci's seizure of the Ming frontier town began the wars that ended with the Qing conquest.
early 20th century
Industrial coal mining
Japan's South Manchuria Railway Company developed the mines, including the West Open-Pit Mine.
1950–1959
Puyi held at Fushun
The former emperor was re-educated at the war criminals centre and released under an amnesty in 1959.
15 August 1962
Death of Lei Feng
The soldier later held up as a national model of selflessness died in an accident at Fushun, where a memorial hall stands.
2004
Yongling inscribed
The tombs of the Qing ancestors were added to the UNESCO site of the Ming and Qing imperial tombs.
Landmarks
Historic site
Hetu Ala
赫图阿拉城
Reconstructed walled seat of Nurhaci on a terrace above the Suzi River, where the Later Jin was proclaimed.
Historic site
Yongling Tombs
永陵
Modest tombs of Nurhaci's forebears, with four stele pavilions, the earliest of the Qing imperial tombs.
Historic site
West Open-Pit Mine
西露天矿
Former open-cast coal mine several kilometres long, with a viewing platform and mining museum.
Museum
Fushun War Criminals Management Centre
抚顺战犯管理所旧址
The former prison, now a museum, where Puyi and Japanese prisoners were held in the 1950s.
Museum
Lei Feng Memorial Hall
雷锋纪念馆
Memorial and museum to Lei Feng, a destination of patriotic education.
Neighbourhoods
Xinbin Manchu Autonomous County
新宾
Hill county to the east with Hetu Ala, Yongling and Manchu villages.
Food
Manchu “eight plates, eight bowls”
满族八碟八碗
The festive banquet of Manchu households, with stewed pork, blood sausage and steamed dishes.
Fushun malaban
麻辣拌
Vegetables, tofu and noodles boiled and tossed in a chilli, sesame and sweet dressing, a local street food.
Culture
Fushun combines an industrial working-class identity with Manchu heritage. Xinbin is one of the centres of Manchu culture in China, with paper-cutting, shamanic ritual and the Manchu language taught in schools, while the city itself is shaped by mining and the memory of Lei Feng.
Getting around
- Fushun North station is served by trains from Shenyang; an intercity rail and road corridor links the two cities closely.
- Xinbin, Hetu Ala and Yongling are reached by road from Fushun.
Day trips
Sarhu
萨尔浒
Scenic area by the Dahuofang reservoir at the site of Nurhaci's decisive victory over the Ming in 1619.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Fushun Municipal People's Government — Fushun Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties — UNESCO World Heritage Centre (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Fushun — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)