This is a story of explosive growth, as told by the USGS Landsat satellite, and recorded in the Earth Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center “Image of the Week” collection.
On the left is Shenyang in 1984. On the right, the same location 30 years later. City is spreading like… well, like city. Nothing else spreads like it. Mold on bread, maybe.
At least there’s this: The large green feature in the north-central part of the urban area is Beiling Park, the largest park in the city.
You can see it from space. Or a geosynchronous orbit, at least.