Dandong II

Dandong is built along the Yalu River. On the other side of the river is the town Sinuiju in North Korea. The original bridge spanning the near 1km stretch across the river was built in October 1911 by the colonial Japanese. However, this bridge was bombed by the Americans in 1950, so now only the part nearest China remains, and is used as a sight-seeing vantage point. They now call this one the Broken Bridge.


Meanwhile, in May 1943, another bridge spanning the Yalu River was completed, which was called the Yalu River Bridge. It was renamed the “Bridge for the Friendship between China and Korea” in October 1990. Here it is in its loveliness:


Anyway, to dispense with the tour-guidery, the Chinese side of the river was pretty sweet, with a nicely laid-out, well-kept park and promenade with families and wedding couples enjoying the sunshine. Looking across the river to North Korea was a different story. Not much life there at all. We decided to take a boat tour, which brought you to within a few metres of the border. A closer look at the place revealed a few soldiers and people on bikes, but not much life. There was a run-down park and I even saw some sort of fun-fair with a big wheel in the background. They also had a tour boat docked alongside the river!


Maybe this stuff was for show for the Chinese, since I didn’t see much sign of life. The boats along the riverside looked pretty worn-out and un-seaworthy! It was intriguing to get a glimpse at a country closed to the rest of the world. I saw a documentary about North Korea on the BBC once, with thoroughly depressed me! These things make you realise how lucky you are! Glad I live in China!!


Took a stroll in the park at the other end of town in the evening time. Not much to see really. I sort of got a cold, so got some medicine and headed to bed early. I always enjoy chatting to the people in the shops. I guess foreigners are a novelty to them. I find most of them very friendly and funny!

The next day, we rose early (a lot of getting up early in China) to go to the Great wall at Tiger Mountain. That’s around a 50 minute bus journey from Dandong. For those interested, I hear that this is the eastern starting point of the wall, and was rebuilt during the Ming dynasty. A student told me that it is newer than the Great Wall at Beijing. Either way, there were less people there and the scenery was nearly as nice. Here's a pic of the Great Wall. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a better one with more of the Wall and the mountain, since the sun would have been shining directly into the camera lens and the pic wouldn't have come out.


However, when you climb to the top of Tiger Mountain, you get an amazing vista of the Yalu River and of North Korea (see pic below)! It was well worth the climb. Thank God we did it in the morning and not in the hot afternoon!


Our ticket said there was something like a “One Step in Each Country” thing, where you could stand with 1 foot in China and 1 foot in North Korea. I found this intriguing, so I paid the 5 yuan for the boat trip. Little did I know that they had duped us and that after some sort of trouble with Chinese tourists in the recent past, nobody was allowed across. The border consisted of a narrow stream and there were some stepping stones. Allegedly, you could step onto North Korean soil and walk around. The stepping stones have been removed and you’re not even supposed to take pictures. There are some soldiers there to stop ya! Well, they’re just having a chat wit each other and couldn’t fie a crap! They just told people to stop taking pictures form time to time!


No much else to say about Dandong. We returned to the city and wandered around. Stopped in the square with the huge Mao Zedong statue and tried to avoid the various beggars around the place. We were lucky in or travels, since the weather was just changing for the worse as we were travelling back to Dalian! It was good to get away and see something different for a few days.