The city of Shenyang is one of the largest cities in northeastern China. Situated along the Hun River, the city is a major transportation hub. It is also an important industrial center, representing the core city of the Shenyang Economic Zone. Its urban and outlying areas are home to over 8 million people.  



These images show the city of Shenyang in 1984, and again in 2014. The expansion of Shenyang’s urban area over the past 30 years is striking, as the urban developed area (shades of silver and gray) has expanded into the previous farmland and forested areas (green shades) surrounding the city. The large green feature in the north-central part of the urban area is Beiling Park, the largest park in the city.



The 40+ year archive of Landsat imagery provides a valuable tool for recording urban growth and other types of land cover change over time. The information in these images can also be useful for monitoring the effects of urban growth on the surrounding landscape and ecosystems.