In the city centre, Zhongshan Square is located at the intersection of Zhongshan Lu and Nanjing Jie. In its middle stands the famous giant Statue of Chairman Mao Zedong, which is also a distinctive landmark of Shenyang. Erected in 1969, the statue is a strong proof of the fanatical personality cult around Mao during the Cultural Revolution in the sixties and seventies. The base of the statue is lined with figures of students, peasants, miners and PLA soldiers waving their little red books - though most of them have been chipped off by now. Wearing an overcoat, the great leader looks in the direction of the city's shopping centre with his fist raised in the air.

When night falls, the square is filled with groups of local people engaged in different activities, including soccer, singing, dancing and calligraphy.