The Shenhe district surrounding the Imperial Palace is the historical core of Shenyang, and the streets around the palace complex retain more of the old city fabric than anywhere else. The area has been partly restored and commercialised, with craft shops, teahouses, and restaurants in Qing-era style buildings, but it is not unpleasantly tourist-heavy by Chinese standards. A walk through the lanes east of the palace in the evening, when locals are out, gives a better sense of the city than the heritage sites alone.
The Zhongjie pedestrian street nearby is the main commercial and social hub, with department stores, street food vendors, and enough people-watching to fill an hour. The area has several good dongbei (northeast Chinese) restaurants — try the guo bao rou (sweet and sour crispy pork) and hearty noodle soups that distinguish Liaoning cuisine from the food of other Chinese regions.