Hi, I am now in beijing and will stay here until the 14th of November. Then I would like to travel to the North-East of China. I have two weeks to spend. Does anyone has some suggestions about what places I should visit during these weeks? Or some recommandation about hostels? I think I would like to go to a small town and then see some small villages in the surroundings.

Some Chinese people here mentioned the cities Da-lian, Har-er-bin and Ji-lin. Has anyone got some experience with these places?

Harbin (in Heilongjiang province) has very big influnce of Russian culture, it also a good place to see the international ice scupture festival, but in Jan or Feb.

Dalian is a port city, most people visiting there for the summer resorts, namely, beaches.

Liaoning is a province where Dalian is. There are plenty of villages around any of the cities, as to which one to see and how to get there, depends upon your interests (what you want to see from those villages) and/or others knowledge. One thing, transportation to small villages are not easy, if you have enough time and can speak some Chinese at least.

No Chinese people here are going to tell you about the most interesting places in the Northeast because, frankly, they don't have a clue beyond Dalian and Harbin.
Thank God you have Confucius here to give you the best scoop on the Dongbei ice cream cone.
Begin your journey with the trip to Shanhaiguan to see the place where the Great Wall meets the sea. Minimize your time in Shenyang after the four hour train ride train and go straight to Dandong, located on the Yalu River across from North Korea.
Dandong is the most fascinating destination in Northeast China all year round. The Yalu River Park and Short Bridge will introduce you to the modern history of Dandong which is now celebrating the 50 year anniversary of what is properly translated as "the anti-American war to support North Korea" For about 15 RMB you can take a small speedboat on the Yalu which will take you "a stone's throw" away from the North Korean shore.
The area around the bridge in downtown Dandong is an excellent place to meet and greet North Koreans as they arrive in China and shop in the nearby wholesale markets.
They start coming by trucks across the bridge around 10:30 in the morning and form a queue near the bridge after 15:30 for the return to Sinuiji. You can easily spot their trucks by the Korean license plates and identify the people walking around by the Kim Il Sung pins prominently worn on their chests. Those pins are available for sale at the Yalu River Park gift shop along with North Korean stamps and currency.
The Korean War Museum is a photogenic destination on a hill at the outskirts of the city. It's interesting to see the war's stories from the Chinese point of view.
A good place to stay is the Post and Telecommunications Hotel, a 3 star hotel with decent rooms going for less than 250 RMB. Across the street from this hotel is an antique market where one can find bargains on North Korea military memorabilia and more currency and stamps.
The Sunday Market at nearby Langtou, south of Dandong, is a lively destination where you will likely be the only foreigner walking up and down the bustling street scene in this small town. It's certainly not as bizarre as the famous bazaar in Kashgar, but provides a glimpse of rural Chinese markets that you can not easily find in Beijing any more.
The highlight of your trip to Dandong will be north of the city at Tiger Mountain (Hu Shan). Here you will find a reconstructed section of the Great Wall overlooking the Yalu River and the border with North Korea. In fact, there is a geographic anomaly within walking distance of the Wall called "Yi Bu Kua" (One Step Across) where you can actually set foot on North Korean soil by simply leaping across a small narrow tributary which serves as the official international border.
From Dandong take a scenic long distance bus ride to Tonghua in Jilin province. Now you're really getting off the beaten path and seeing countryside rarely visited by tourists, both foreign and domestic. Your ultimate destination is Chang Bai Shan national park, another scenic spot close to North Korea. The natural mountain scenery here is the best in Northeast China with pine forests, waterfalls, hot springs as well.
From Changbaishan your final destination is the city of Yanji, where day trips to towns bordering North Korea as well as Russia are available. Yanji is where you will find the majority of China's Korean ethnic minority. At the small port town of Quanhe there are organized Chinese tours to the North Korean village of Luo Jing (that's the Chinese pronunciation) where you can visit a school and market. You can also go beyond Tumen to the town of Huichun where there are Chinese organized day trips across the border into Russia.
After this adventure you can ride in comfort on the soft sleeper train from Yanji back to Beijing. The 10:30 departure arrives in Beijing at noon the next day.
Best wishes,
Confucius


More Confucian commentary can now be found at http://www.virtualtourist.com

thank you for your contribution, kongfuzi. this is what we want more of @ this board.


"God is not neutral", G W Bush Sept 18 2001.

This sounds to good to ignore, I know what I'm going to do :-)

Thanks a lot!

Seoul to Dandong ferry.
Hunchun China to (zarubino russia port)to Sokcho S.Korea ferry.

www.besttourkorea.com CLICK ON "FERRY INFORMATIONS"