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Dandong (丹东; Dāndōng; formerly Andong (安东)), is a city in Liaoning Province, China, right next to the North Korean border.

Understand

Location of Dandong in China
Dondong in Chinese

Visitors usually come to Dandong for its close vicinity to the North Korean border.

Situated at the confluence of the Yalu River and the Yellow Sea in the southeast of Liaoning Peninsula, facing the North Korean town of Sinuiju across the Yalu River, small Dandong enjoys its reputation as the largest border city in China.

The geographic setting and the rich natural resources of Dandong account for its recent development into a city characterised by the light industry, silk industry (every late May, Dandong is the venue for the Oriental Silk Festival), and also Xiu Jade is famous for sea products and special products, such as Ginseng, hawthorn and chestnut.

The quiet riverside city is most famous for the pockmarked Yalu River Bridge spanning distressingly over the river. The bridge survived the bombing during the Korean War, a time when the city still had its old name Andong. Now it is open to the public to commemorate "the defeat of the American Aggression" and is the first choice for a glimpse of North Korea.

Get in

By plane

Dandong Airport (DDG IATA) - Flights from Dandong are limited to Beijing and Shanghai; therefore, it is probably better to fly in/out of Dalian or Shenyang and then take the train or bus to/from Dandong. Dandong Airport is 13 miles west of town and an airport shuttle is available.

By train

Trains from Shenyang several times a day with night trains from Beijing, Dalian, Changchun and Qingdao. From Dalian, the train takes a slow route of almost 10 hours, while buses can complete the journey in 4. You can also take the train from Pyongyang, North Korea and Moscow and Russia.

By bus

The long-distance bus station is at 98 Shiwei Lu, near the train station.

  • Beijing - takes about 10 hours
  • Shenyang - takes about 3 hours
  • Tonghua - takes about 5 hours

Dalian Express Buses leave from the Baoshan Shicheng on Gong'an Jie. The trip takes about 4 hours.

By boat

The Dandong International Ferry company (Dandong Office: 0415-3152666, Incheon Office: +82-32-891-3322, runs the ferry Oriental Pearl between Dandong and Incheon port in South Korea. The ferry leaves Incheon's Ferry Terminal No. 1 at 17:00 (check-in closing at 15:00) on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, arrives at Dandong at 9:00 the next day, and leaves Dandong at 16:00 on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday (check-in closing at 15:00) and arrives at Incheon at 9:00 the next day. Prices: economy (20+ people) 1010 yuans, 6-beds cabin w/ bathroom 1060 yuans. Dandong departure tax: 30 yuans to buy at the terminal.

Food available for purchase on board in South Korean won only; yuan exchange possible at very bad rate (no currency exchange at Dandong terminal). The passage takes 15 hours.

Buses to the ferry terminal leave Dandong in front of the train station at around 12:00-13:00 (ask station for details) (1 h, 20 yuan).

Get around

As the city of Dandong is not large and lacks efficient public transportation with English, the taxi is probably the most common means for getting around. Almost all of the drivers will bring you anywhere inside the city for the price of ¥10. From downtown to the new district, it should cost between 30 to 50 Y. When using taxis, make sure the driver activates the meter, and pay attention to it as the meter may accidentally 'turn off', resulting in the driver demanding more money from you.

If you do take public transportation (buses), note that depending on the line, service may stop as early as 6 pm. So taxi may be your only option.

See

View of North Korea from Dandong
  • North Korean Border (北韩边界; Běihánbiānjiè). As the boundary between China and North Korea, the Yalu River flows over 300 km between the countries. Yalujiang Park is the best place to view North Korea, see the public sculptures, the swimming platforms (Warning: do not swim into North Korea), and possibly take a fast boat ride up and down the river along the border. There are remnants of an original railroad bridge across the river, bombed and destroyed by the Americans, a few km north of the Friendship Bridge.
  • 1 Yalu River Broken Bridge (Yalu Jiang Duan Qiao). This bridge reaches only halfway across the river, the other half having been disassembled by the Koreans. The remaining half was strafed by fighter planes in the Korean War. One can walk out to the end of this half-bridge. ¥30.
  • Cenotaph of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. A large museum and monument built on a hill overlooking central Dandong and the Yalu river. The many, well-labeled bilingual exhibits venerate the courageous Chinese Volunteers Army, and offer a Chinese perspective on the history of the Korean war. As of December 2014, this is closed for renovation.
  • Hushan Great Wall (虎山长城; Hǔshānchángchéng; lit. Tiger Mountain Great Wall) (25 km northeast of Dandong). Ming dynasty section of Great Wall of China which travels parallel to river was restored to decent condition. The section is steep so watch your footing. Buy a ticket at the long distance bus station for ¥6.5 and the trip takes about 40 minutes. The bus driver will drop you off at a T-intersection right by the Wall. You can hike along the Wall one way and then return to the beginning on a walkway along the bottom of the mountain. There is an old wire fence that separates North Korea from China. North Korean guardhouses are 300-400 metres in the distance. The actual border is a small stream-river along the base of the mountain. Don't cross the water. To return to Dandong, return to the T-intersection and wait for a bus that will take you back to the long-distance bus terminal for ¥3. Confirm with the bus driver that the bus is going to Dandong. ¥60.
Friendship Bridge
  • 2 Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge. The official crossing into North Korea. Passage is only by vehicle or train. Travellers are not allowed to walk across this bridge.
  • 3 Yalu River Park. Riverside park regarded as having some of the best views into North Korea.

Do

  • Cross into North Korea. It is possible to cross into Sinuiju, North Korea by train from Dandong, and then change trains to get to Pyongyang. Numerous local tour groups can sort out the paperwork without referring to Beijing and arrange a relatively budget-friendly visit to Pyongyang for Chinese and foreign tourists. The cheapest deals involve joining a large group and can go as low as around ¥2000 for a three night/four day package for Chinese nationals. Foreign nationals should expect to pay at least 560 euros. Bargain hard. Of course, the usual restrictions apply (see North Korea for details).

Buy

Most shops offer products at low cost and North Korean cigarettes can be purchased at many places, especially along the Yalu river..

Eat

The town, because of the location, has a lot of Korean restaurants with most congregating on the street facing the river. Give the shiguo Banfan, stonepot rice, also known as bibimbop in Korean, a try as well as the huoguo, hot pot. There are also a few North Korean restaurants in town, owned by the North Korean government and with North Korean waitresses, which are recognisable by the Chinese and North Korean flags over the entrances.

Drink

True Love Club is 2 minutes' walk away from the station. Westerners are not frequent, so they are likely to be called on stage to participate in beer races with the DJ and be interviewed in Chinese, no knowledge of the language required. This is usually very comical for the Chinese club patrons, but foreign revelers who speak little Chinese should take care. The on-stage interview portion can be very mean-spirited - on one recent visit, an English man was made to badly repeat phrases in Chinese such as "I am very poor and have no money." Of course he had no idea what he was saying and the crowd found this to be very funny.

Sleep

  • Dandong Yalujiang Mansion, 87 Jiuwei Road, +86 415 212 5901, fax: +86 41 5212 6180.
  • Post & Telecommunications Hotel, 78 Qiwei Road, +86 415 216 6888, fax: +86 41 5213 5988.
  • Zhonglian Dajiuian, Shangmao Lüyou Qu A Qu, +86 415 317 0666, fax: +86 41 5317 0888. Great views and comfortable rooms with a bowling alley, cigar room and western buffet. The cafe has views of North Korea, 143 rooms.

Go next

  • North Korea - If you are interested in paying a visit to North Korea, you´ll usually have to wait for weeks for your visa application to be processed. But you can still learn a lot about North Korea on the streets of Dandong, where vendors sell North Korean stamps and propaganda posters and frequently you´ll see Korean writing on boards over shops. In the hotels you can watch North Korean TV - the city is so close to North Korea, you can feel the strong influence of Korean culture everywhere. Recent reports speculate that travel restrictions have been somewhat eased, and visa processing faster for some nationalities.
  • Dagu Mountain (大孤山; Dàgūshān; lit. Lonely Mountain) (90 km southwest of Dandong, access is by bus from Dandong to town of Gushan). Several Tang dynasty Taoist temples occupy the mountain site.
  • Fenghuangshan National Park — 52 km northwest of Dandong, 840m high mountain dotted with Tang, Ming and Qing dynasty temples, monasteries and pagodas.
  • The city of Dalian and its wonderful coastlines


This city travel guide to Dandong is a usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.