As night falls, the Korean shopping malls, Korean cuisine, KTV, large-scale baths and bars here are full of lights, especially the neon lights are almost bilingual subtitles in Chinese and Korean, giving people the feeling that they are on the streets of Seoul. This is the famous street with Korean characteristics in Shenyang Xita.

In the minds of countless people in Shenyang, "food", "nightlife" and "Korean customs" are the labels of Xita Street.

Xita area in Shenyang is the largest gathering area of Korean ethnic groups in the three northeastern provinces except Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture, with about 31,111 Korean residents. Xita area connects Heping, Tiexi and Huanggu districts, the famous Taiyuan Street in the south, the bustling old street in Huanggu district in the north and the old North City where traditional time-honored brands are gathered in the east.

why did it become a gathering place for Koreans? Let's go back to history.

people in Shenyang know that there are four Tibetan white pagodas on the east, west, south and north corners of the old city site in Shenyang, and four temples under the four pagodas. This is what people used to call the "Four Elephants in Shengjing", which is called "protecting the country and the people, strengthening the town, four pagodas and four temples" in history.

the west tower, as one of the "four images of Shengjing", naturally has lively scenes such as fairs, which is the oldest foundation of commercial civilization in the west tower area today. As a regional concept, Xita area can be traced back to a hundred years.

in 1914, the Russo-Japanese War broke out. After Japan's victory, in order to further embezzle Shenyang and Northeast China, a large number of facilities began to be built in the affiliated areas along the Nanman Railway in Shenyang. Japan forcibly recruited a large number of cheap labor from its colony, the Korean Peninsula.

so, where do these laborers live? It must be on the side of Nanman Railway, so most Koreans chose the West Tower because it is close to Shenyang Railway Station and its affiliated facilities.

At present, the west end of Shifu Road in Xita area is located in the subsidiary boundary. In the past, the Japanese named this road as "Riji Town", and the south side of Riji Town Road was the land for the independent garrison of Kwantung Army at that time, while the north side was the famous Hualiu Street (red light district)-Liuyi Town in the subsidiary boundary of Manchuria Railway at that time.

Speaking of it, this restaurant in Hualiu Street in Liuding is actually related to the September 18th Incident.

before the "September 18th Incident", due to the Japanese emperor's failure to approve the "Incident" plan, and the pressure from the cabinet, elders and public opinion, the Japanese Army held a meeting of Lu Xiang, Chief of Staff and Director of Education on September 4th, and decided on the policy of restraining the Kwantung Army from using force. At the same time, it was decided to send Major General Miji Jianchuan as an envoy to send Lu Xiang's letter to the Kwantung Army Command. However, on the night of the September 18th Incident, Miki Jianchuan, who was ordered by Fengtian Emperor to stop the incident, was drunk by Tiamatot, the assistant officer of Fengtian Secret Service, at the Juwen Hotel with a geisha in Liuding Street, and the shocking plot of Kwantung Army was realized.

in today's west tower business district, there used to be a European-style building, that is, the earliest police department attached to Fengtian Railway-Fengtian Police Department. In September 1916, the Japanese built the office building of Fengtian Police Department in Fengtian West Tower, which was beautifully constructed. The police department was built in 1917. In 1929, after the completion of the new police department, Fengtian Police Department moved into the new police department in Langsu Square (now Zhongshan Square). The original site of Fengtian Police Department is located on the west side of yanshou temple, the present west tower, and the present site is the playground of Shenyang Korean Sixth Middle School.

After War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression's victory, the Korean laborers recruited by the Japanese did not choose to leave the local water and soil. They were used to life here and began to thrive, which is why the Xita area in Shenyang became a Korean-inhabited area.

The current Xita Korean-featured commercial street was developed in the 1991s. Most of the investors who first came here were Koreans. They took a fancy to the characteristics of Korean people living in Xita area and began to influence the development here with their own unique customs. They have opened some bathing, catering and entertainment facilities, and then various commercial elements of "Korean Wave" are all over the West Tower area.

The total street length of Xita Commercial Street is 682 meters, which is the second largest Korean street in the world after Korea Street in the United States. There are more than 111 businesses on both sides of Xita Street, including Korean cuisine, comprehensive catering, singing practice rooms, large-scale baths, cafes, bars, Internet cafes, beauty salons, banks and large department stores, among which there are more than 41 Korean-funded and North Korean-run shopping malls and cultural and entertainment enterprises.

With the massive injection of Korean capital, authentic Korean food and pure Korean-style services have followed, from signs, clothing, language to services, almost all of which are Korean copies. The high-rise and low-rise buildings with different styles in the neighborhood are quite Korean, and they are called "home" in Shenyang, China by Koreans and Koreans, and are called "Little Seoul".

The quaint archways, women wearing Korean costumes, and restaurants serving Korean food all show that this street is a place where Koreans live in compact communities. Xita Street is bustling with passengers during the day and flashing neon at night, which presents a vibrant scene of shopping, food and fashion.

On the east side of Xita Street, a street parallel to it is a Korean flavor market. Dried vegetables, dog meat, all kinds of Korean side dishes and other condiments are available here, which is the largest, most complete and authentic Korean flavor market in Shenyang. My family wants to buy spicy cabbage, so I made a special trip here.

Speaking of the West Tower, we can't help but write about the delicious food here.

In the West Tower, foodies can taste "Seoul Cuisine" and "Pyongyang Cuisine". I often entertain foreign friends in Xita Street for two reasons: First, the sashimi series, the best ingredients and exquisite ingredients, a set meal with more than a dozen patterns and high cost performance. Of course, the key is the excellent taste of sashimi, which is difficult for hotels in other places to taste; The second is the Korean song and dance performance. The beautiful women from North Korea are sweet and beautiful, and they can sing and dance well. They are both waiters and actors, and they make you happy while tasting delicious food.

friends, welcome to Shenyang, and you must visit this unique Xita Street.

Attached are photos of Xita Street.