Since the collapse of imperial rule in China, the palace has been converted to a museum that now lies in the center of Shenyang, Liaoning.

In 2004, it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as an extension of the Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, or Forbidden City, in Beijing.

The main part of the Middle Section is located in the centre of the ancient city of Shenyang, built in the Hong Taiji period.

Dazheng Temple is an octagonal heavy-duty building with a yellow glazed tile and green trimming, 16 multicoloured glazed ridges, large wooden frame structure with Mortise and tenon joint, flying roof arch, colour paintings and dragon plates, which is the traditional architectural form of the Han Dynasty.

Daqing Gate (大清门), Chongzheng Hall (崇政殿), Fenghuang Building (凤凰楼), Qingning Palace (清宁宫), amongst others, were built from 1627 to 1635.

While facing east the palace of Fenghuang Building is connected with a religious ritual square, the room in the west is surrounded by a Kang bed-stove, a traditional way of keeping warm in the Northern part of China.

When an emperor of the Qing dynasty was on his "East Tour" to Shengjing (Shenyang), it was the place for reading books, watching dramas and the room for storing the "Complete Library of the Four Treasuries".

The Mukden Palace Museum displays a large number of artifacts, such as the sword of Nurhachi and the waist knife and antler chairs of Hong Taiji.