Chapter 3 : Shenyang, one against all
Arriving at the station of Shenyang EIB (North), what keystroke is the imposing mass of brand new buildings, with fanciful shapes for some, still others are unfinished.
It is a typically Chinese modern city, with tall buildings, major streets, major roads... and small Chinese elsewhere, Aboriginal people are very curious to strangers, I do not count the number of people who have smiled to me, made of "hello" or taken photo... And I have not crossed a single Westerner in two days !
I cross the city on foot (I had underestimated the distance) and first disappointment, the hostel I was aiming for was closed... There, a Chinese takes me to a luxury hotel... I understand that I did not intend to pay this fee and it takes me to another hotel, who cannot receive foreigners. We end our race a few streets further, in another hotel of the same string that it, can accommodate strangers ! Go figure... In any case, This person was friendly, helped me without expecting anything in return ! The hotel, the 7 Days Inn by Lu Xiaoxi, formerly Meishan Binguan, is renovated and rooms (150Y for a double with bathroom) are very comfortable.
I take a taxi and tells the Railway Museum. After a certain time to turn in the city, It takes me find one (pretty ) young lady speaking French. It explains that the Museum has changed its location, and it is now really far outside the city and it cost me dearly to go there by taxi. So I decide to go to the Museum of 18 September (free entry), which is on the invasion of Manchuria by the Japanese in 1931. The museography, as well as the building itself, are striking. At the exit, students want to practice their English with tourists - and this is not a scam this time !
I walk around in the city, including passing the statue of Mao in koreatown and the Zhongshan square : unreal atmosphere where a restaurant displaying a huge North Korean flag shop front meets his South Korean counterpart... Choose your side !
The Liaoning Provincial Museum (free entry) is the comparison with the Shanghai Museum. It focuses more on the prehistory of the region and its links with Korean culture, but also presents contemporary works. Legends in French are not systematic, but the audioguides are available.
On Zhong Jie, between Xishuncheng Jie and Chaoyang Jie, There is a small fast-food sino-irlandais ! Food is not great but the concept is original and the owner is friendly and speaks English !
Chapter 4 : Dandong, a look at a closed country
After a hard ride from 4 h 30 seated from Shenyang (42THERE – seated hard, There is a three-seat bench and one of two places in the width ; luck that I am in the middle of the three-seat bench) through the Chinese countryside who contrasts sharply with China's cities (very little mechanization, carts pulled by donkeys are still relatively common on the roads), I arrive in Dandong, small town on the Yalu River, at the North Korean border.
Having read and much appreciated the writings of a known member of VoyageForum, I wanted to make a detour to this small town of 800 000 inhabitants because it is the main border crossing to North Korea.
I put my business at the Luyuan Binguan (100Y the simple), Hotel vieillot and with only Turkish toilets...
I then head toward the shore, and suddenly, I find myself facing the North Korea ! I embark on a boat ride (50THERE) approaching closer to the Korean Bank. The contrast with the Chinese Bank is striking : a deserted industrial zone, Rusty and immobile cranes, the clip of a crane placed in the hold of a ship, except that the ship in question is empty and failed...
I followed that with the visit of Broken bridge (30THERE), bombed by the Americans during the war of Korea, and which only remains the Chinese side.
I go to the Memorial of the American aggression Museum (free entry), but no luck, It is closed on Mondays... There is still an interesting collection of weapons of war outdoors.
The evening, I go to the Pyongyang North Korean Restaurant (Pingrang Gaoli Fandian, located Bawei Lu EDIT : It no longer exists, This is probably one of those that have emerged along the river), searchable restaurant by a (discreet) North Korean flag in front. Bridesmaids (Very pretty :)) welcome you to a perfect hostess by air or in traditional dress holding, with still a North Korean flag in the chest. Inside, the scene had the drawn curtain, but I could see one of the bridesmaids play the keyboard in silence. To the fact : the food is excellent ! And it is very different from Chinese cuisine.
The Park on the Bank of the Yalu a pleasant spectacle at night : We can see such a group of gentlemen of respectable age calligraph water on the slabs of the promenade, online and in sync perfect ; further, a Lady Sings Chinese opera arias, accompanied by a saxophone ; elsewhere yet, a group practice a sabre dance.
Furthermore, the bridge breaker and his younger brother, the bridge of friendship Sino-coreenne, official border post, are illuminated, In contrast to the Korean Bank, to the extent that one might wonder if there is actually another shore.
Near two bridges, the inevitable stalls for tourists exposed their allegedly originating articles from the other side : stamps, currency, badges... I have however not found "rarities" were talking about some people.
The next day, I returned to the North Korean restaurant and I put down with these ladies, before taking a bus to Dalian (99THERE, Note : as for the train tickets, bus tickets can be purchased at the counters of bus stations - and only there).
PS : Tourists encountered on-site (who travelled in North Korea the next day) have advised me the great wall for the mounting of the Tiger, a 20 km of Dandong. It is the easternmost part of the wall, and you can see North Korean peasants at work just below.
