The U.S. Consulate in Shenyang was opened in 1904.[3] It was originally housed in two abandoned Chinese temples, "Temples 'Yi Kung Ssu' and 'Scwang Chen Ssu' located outside the Little West Commerce Gate." Sometime before 1924, the Consulate moved to No. 1 Wu Wei Lu, a building which used to house the Russian Consulate. At the time, the United States had several other Consulates in Northeast China, including in
Harbin and
Dalian.[citation needed] These appear to have been closed by World War II. The Shenyang Consulate was able to continue operations for most of the war, but closed in 1949 after the new Chinese Communist Party authorities had imprisoned the remaining consulate staff in their offices for almost a year before expelling them. In 1984, five years after the United States recognized and formally established diplomatic relations with the government in Beijing, the Consulate reopened. Today, it plays a key part in the management of the close relationship the United States has with northeast China.[citation needed]
‡ Missions which are located in countries or cities that may be considered a part of more than one continent
1 Consulates-General which function as an embassy (ie. consul reports to State Department, not the respective country's ambassador)
2 The American Institute in Taiwan is ostensibly a public, non-profit organization to promote US-Taiwanese relations, but through State Department staffing & assistance, functions as an informal US diplomatic mission.