Dandong
Dandong ( Chinese 丹東 市 / 丹东 市 , Pinyin Dāndōng Shì ) is a district-free city in the northeast of the People's Republic of China in the Liaoning Province with 2,426,000 inhabitants (2010). Among the 14 prefecture cities in the province, Dandong is the eighth largest in terms of population.
The city is located in the area where the Yalu (Amrokgang) flows into the Yellow Sea . The river marks the border between China and North Korea . Dandong has an inland port in the city center and a new port for oceangoing ships ( Dandong New Port ), which is located in Donggang , about 35 kilometers from the city center. Tour buses, machines, textiles, paper, pulp , silk , rubber and chemical products are manufactured in the city. It is connected to the North Korean city of Sinŭiju by a railway bridge. The administrative area of the city has an area of 15,030 km².
Administrative structure
The district-free city of Dandong is made up of three city districts , an autonomous county and two independent cities:
- Zhenxing district (振兴 区), 80 km², approx. 380,000 inhabitants;
- Yuanbao district (元宝 区), 81 km², approx. 190,000 inhabitants;
- Zhen'an District (振 安 区), 669 km², approx. 190,000 inhabitants;
- Kuandian Autonomous County of the Manchu (宽甸 满族 自治县), 6,186 km², approx. 430,000 inhabitants;
- Fengcheng City (凤 城市), 5,518 km², approx. 580,000 inhabitants;
- City of Donggang (东港市), 2,496 km², approx. 640,000 inhabitants.
History and meaning
Since the city was founded during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), it has developed into an important trade hub between China and Korea.
The economic development of Dandong was promoted by the connection to the railway network in 1907. During the occupation by Japanese troops from 1931 to 1945 and especially after the end of the Korean War (1950–1953), the city was developed into an important industrial center in the region.
For a long time, the closest approach to the isolated state of North Korea without a visa was via the old Yalu Bridge in the south of Dandong, next to today's Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge . On the North Korean side it was demolished, but the Chinese side has been preserved as a memorial and features photos of the original Japanese construction from 1911. At that time the city was called Andong. In 1965 it was renamed Dandong.
The old bridge ends at a kind of ball of metal that dates back to US bombing in 1951 - a response to Chinese interference in the Korean War.
The beautiful surroundings near the bridges on the banks of the Yalu River are worth seeing. You can drive bumper cars in the nearby Yalu Park . At the western end of the promenade, the culture square is the illuminated and cheerful evening meeting point for the local population.
The Shenyang – Dandong high-speed line is to be completed by 2014 , and another to Dalian is to be completed a year earlier. The Pyongyang-Sinŭiju expressway and the Pyongyang-Sinŭiju railway line, which are currently under construction, will significantly improve connections to North Korea. The New Yalu Bridge has been completed, but it still ends in North Korean farmland.
Tourism and heritage
- Wu Long Shan Monastery in the Five Dragon Mountains, 20 km northeast of Dandong.
Town twinning
Dandong has a partnership with the English city of Doncaster .
Personalities
- Zhou Feng (* 1993), wrestler
- Zong Xiao Chen (* 1998), darts player
Individual evidence
- ↑ China Liaoning Business Guide - Dandong ( Memento of the original of July 6, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Scott Snyder: China-Korea Relations: Fire Sale, Hot Money, and Anxieties about “Investment” (PDF; 72 kB) , In Comparative Connections. A Quarterly E-Journal on East Asian Bilateral Relations , April 2010, accessed September 15, 2011
Web links
Coordinates: 40 ° 7 ' N , 124 ° 22' E