Well, it has been more than a year since I started working in China. When I moved to China, it was part of my upcoming travel plan to visit at least two countries- Magnolia and North Korea (DPRK), during my stay in China, primarily because these two countries are located very close to the mainland. Obviously, there are plenty of trains and flights connecting China and Magnolia/North Korea. Finally, in October 2018, the dream came true when I travelled to DPRK via Shenyang city.
After completing my North Korean trip (while returning from Pyongyang), I took a Pyongyang-Dandong train.
That is to say, I basically entered China via Dandong city (a border city in China).
Soon after arriving in Dandong, I went through the regular Chinese immigration process. I had a couple of hours in Dandong before riding a bullet train to Dalian (and then a flight from Dalian to Suzhou). This allowed me some time to come out of the Dandong Railway Station to explore the city.
So, in this post, let me share with you my experiences about Dandong! In fact, Dandong was special to me. Guess why? Well, it was my 25th Chinese city. In particular, I was in Dandong in the evening time, and the city looked incredibly beautiful. So, I’ll also show you the evening photos of the city and you’ll probably get a better feel about the Dandong nightlife scene. I’m also going to recommend you a simple list of the top things to do in Dandong city.
Where is Dandong city?
Well, as mentioned earlier, Dandong is located in China’s Liaoning province (in the North East). The city serves as a major gateway for the trade between North Korea and China. The Yalu river separates North and China and Dandong city link these two counties. The bridges on the Yalu river allows trade by both rail- and roadways.
How to get to Dandong?
Getting to Dandong is rather easy. However, it’s depend on where you are coming from (China or North Korea). There are major rail links connecting Dandong to Pyongyang and many important Chinese cities. For example, there are direct high-speed trains connecting Shanghai and Beijing to Dandong. You can also take a train from Shenyang to Dandong. In my case, I was coming from Pyongyang and briefly stopped in Dandong. Then I took a high-speed train from Dandong to Dalian. It was a pleasant ~2hrs long evening train ride (~RMB 100).
Dandong also has its own airport, the Dandong Langtou Airport. There are some regional airlines connecting Dandong to Shanghai, Qingdao, etc. It seems that there are flights to/from Seoul as well.
Dandong food?
Well, like any other Chinese city, Dandong also offers plenty of delicious Chinese cuisines. The city also has quite a few North Korean restaurants. However, I was out in the city only for a couple of hours. So, I didn’t have a chance for a fine dining.
Nevertheless, I managed to eat some local street food. Let me show you a photo-
Dandong weather
I was travelling to Dandong in October and the weather was very much pleasant. It was a good experience to stroll along the riverside.
Hotels in Dandong
There are plenty of hotels in Dandong. My initial plan was to spend at least one night in Dandong and I had even booked an accommodation with the Hanting Express – they’ve got hotels in most of the Chinese cities, and so far, I’ve had a pleasant experience with Hanting chain of hotels. If you’re not sure about the accommodations in Dandong, here is the address of the Hanting express, you can book online-
Hanting Express Dandong Train Station, Address: No.4 Jinshan Main Street, Zhenxing District, Dandong, 118000, China.
Hotel address in Chinese-
汉庭酒店丹东火车站店辽宁省丹东市振兴区锦山大街4号, 丹东. Phone: +86 415 311 5666
Top things to do in Dandong
Now let me take you through some of the top Dandong travel attractions that are indeed worth exploring-
Three Yalu River Bridges
The historical Yalu river bridge (鸭绿江断桥, Yā Lǜ Jiāng Duàn Qiáo) is arguably one of the top things to do in Dandong. The historical landmark bridge was bombed by the USA army during the Korean war. Now what remains is only the leftover part of the original bridge, that too only accessible from the Chinese side of the international border. The bridge looks particularly beautiful in the night.
Just next to the broken bridge, there is a new bridge. As such, Dandong has total three bridges on the Yalu river. One broken bridge, one for the railway and one for the roadways.
I was little surprised that the Google Maps shows only one bridge. However, the Baidu Maps shows all the three bridges. So, here I’ll paste the screenshots, from both the maps. Looking at the maps, it seems that all the three bridges are mostly part of North Korea.
Yalu River Scenic Area
The Yalu River Scenic Area (鸭绿江风景名胜区), including the Yalu River Park (鸭绿江公园), is located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yalu River. The scenic zone is a great place to take photos of the bridges and explore the river that starts from the Minjiang Estuary in the east and reaches Dadong Port in the west, with a total length of 210 kilometers.
The Yalu River runs about 300 kilometers from Dandong City. This section of the river is wide and the scenery on both sides is beautiful. The area along the estuary is said to be rich in large silver fish.
North Korean Border
If you want to see how North Korea looks from the Chinese shores, then Dandong would be just a perfect place. To see the border (北韩边界, Běihán biānjiè), you should come to the Yalujiang Park. You can also take a fast boat ride along the border (from the Hushan Great Wall). Again, since most part of the river near Dandong lies in North Korea, you’ll be technically in North Korea if you take a boat ride. RMB 200/person, but if you are 7-8 person in a group, you’ll save some money. 🙂
Hushan Great Wal
Hushan Great Wall (虎山长城, Hǔshān chángchéng) is located on the banks of the Yalu River, 15 kilometers east of Dandong city. It is an important scenic spot of the national-level Yalu River Scenic Area. It is across the river from North Korea’s Yuchi Island and the ancient city of Yizhou.
Hushan Great Wall was built in the 1460s and now it’s considered to be a great tourist destination.
Anti-US Aid Korea Memorial Tower
The Anti-US Aid Korea Memorial Tower (抗美援朝纪念塔, Kàngměiyuáncháo jìniàn tǎ) is located on the beautiful Yinghua Mountain in the north of Dandong city. It is connected to the Memorial Hall of the Anti-US Aid Korea. There is a calligraphy engraved stone in the middle, which translates to “Who is the loveliest person”.
There is a tower located in the middle of the memorial, surrounded by four sculptures, vividly reflecting the scenes of the Chinese and Korean volunteers and the masses fighting against the Americans during the war to resist US aggression.
Jinjiangshan park
The scenic Jinjiangshan Park (锦江山公园) is the largest comprehensive park in Dandong. It is located on the southern slope of the Jinjiang Mountain in the north of the city and 1.8 kilometers south of the Yalu River. The Jinjiang Mountain Park is covered with greenery, and the flowers are clustered.
The whole park is divided into 5 large viewing areas, among which the scenic spots of the mountains and rivers are red and green, the winding paths are quiet, the pavilions are paved, and the trees are orderly scattered. The precious trees such as pines, yews, cherry blossoms and ginkgo in the mountains can be seen everywhere.
Ascending the distance, you can take a bird’s eye view of the whole picture of Dandong city and North Korea’s Xinyi City.
The “Cultural Garden” in the garden is a place to browse the local cultural history of Dandong. In addition, the “Liaodong Liberation Memorial Tower” and the “Resistance to the United States and the Aids Martyrs Cemetery” were also built in the park.
Dagu Mountain
Dagushan (大孤山, Dàgūshān) is located in Gushan town. This attraction is one of the famous scenic spots in Liaodong. Located on the right bank of the mouth of the Western Ocean, it is lonely on the shore of the Yellow Sea, with beautiful scenery and rich culture. The millennial ancient temple built on the mountain in the Tang Dynasty is a combination of the three religions of “Buddha, Taoism, and Confucianism”. Here, people from different regions come here to find spiritual comfort and sustenance, and their religious influence. It has an irreplaceable position in the three northeastern provinces and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. There are more than 100 temples in the Dagu Mountain that were originally built in the Tang Dynasty. It is one of the most complete ancient buildings in the Northeast.
The ancient buildings of Dagushan are divided into Shangmiao and Xia Temple. Shang Temple consists of Yaowang Temple, Jade Emperor Temple, Zhenwu Temple, Shengshui Palace, Longwang Hall, Foye Hall, Sancha Niangniang Hall, 1st Floor, Guanhai Pavilion and Stupa. The lower temple consists of Lu Zuting, Tianhou Palace, Guandi Hall, Fortuna Temple, Wenchang Palace, Daxiong Hall, Dizang Hall, Guanyin Temple, Tianwang Hall and Ancient Theatre.
A central axis runs through the holy water palace, the Tianhou Palace and the ancient theater building, so that the upper and lower temples are mutually opposed and connected. Moreover, the architectural skills are more exquisite, with carved beams and ridges, ridges and ridges, buckets and arches, and brick murals, showing a magnificent national architectural style.
- North Korean Culture – Please Respect the Country and Its Leaders
- Why to Travel to North Korea? Is North Korea Worth It?
- How is Life in North Korea?
Alright, I guess it’s pretty much for Dandong and I’d stop here.
In summary, although I didn’t have much time to explore Dandong, I indeed loved my 25th Chinese city. Frankly, the city doesn’t have too much of travel attractions as compared what we see in the cities like Nanjing, but still Dandong indeed has some exciting top things to do. So spending at least one night in Dandong is definitely recommended. In particular, if you are coming from North Korea, you can relax in Dandong for a while.
That’s all about the Top Things to Do in Dandong City review blog-post. If you have any question about traveling or living in China, let me know! Feel free to post in our forum so that others could also contribute and learn. For regular updates like us on Facebook, or follow on Twitter!
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Wish you a great time travelling to Dandong City!
Cheers!
Last updated: Monday, December 31, 2018