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Take a tour of the closest Chinese city to North Korea - the nearest thing to the outside world most North Koreans will ever see
Take a tour of the closest Chinese city to North Korea - the nearest thing to the outside world most North Koreans will ever see
Alexandra MaMay 6, 2018, 12:53 IST
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Google Maps/Business Insider
The Chinese city of Dandong is located less than a mile away from the North Korean settlement of Sinuiju - but the two cities could hardly be more different.
The two cities - divided only by the narrow Yalu River - are so close that people can easily see over the border, and into each others' lives.
Dandong is usually the first port of call for trucks crossing over from North Korea to China, and the only part of China, or the outside world, many North Koreans will ever see.
"Nowhere in the world is there such a difference between what life looks like on opposite sides of the river or the fences that separate the two countries," wrote Reuters photographer Damir Sagolj in his description of North Korea's borders with its neighbours.
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Scroll down to learn more about Dandong and Sinuiju.
Dandong is also home to quite a large ethnic Korean population, who have opened restaurants serving North Korean food. This one in Dandong is playing a North Korean propaganda programme as Chinese customers enjoy their meal.
There's also a China-North Korea Cultural Centre, which exhibited paintings by North Korean artists last September.
Since Kim Jong Un pledged to create a "favourable environment" for foreign investment in his country earlier this year, property prices in Dandong have shot up.
The New Zone is one of the most popular areas for property buyers. It's home to various multi-storied residential blocks — some of which are under construction — and this massive coffee shop, named One Cafe.
The New Zone was meant to have its own connection to North Korea by now. A massive new road bridge has been constructed, but never opened. The North Korean end finishes in a field.
Business Insider produced a video last year about the stalled project, which some now hope may get back on track.
Seafood is a big part of the Dandong diet — not surprising considering its proximity to the Yellow Sea. Here's a wet market in the city.
It also has this sprawling street market.
Meanwhile, life in Sinuiju, the neighbouring North Korean city, seems vastly different.
The North Korean woman and child are washing vegetables in river water along the bank of the Yalu.
Some North Koreans, if they're lucky, get to take vessels down the Yalu River to see Dandong as well. They're unlikely to get too close to China, though, as it is illegal in North Korea to leave the country without the government's permission.
North Korea also installs military personnel to keep watch over its borders. These soldiers are patrolling the embankment on Hwanggumpyong Island in the middle of the Yalu River.
Dandong is also aware of its unique position as a neighbouring city to North Korea, and capitalises on it by operating tours along its side of the Yalu River.
Tourists can take a boat from China to get even closer to North Korea. Some tour operators sell small bags of bread and biscuits, which tourists can throw onto the North Korean shore for North Korean guards and children, Australia's SBS News reported.
This couple even commissioned a boat to take their wedding photos.
Some Dandong locals have also set up stalls by the Yalu River boardwalk, where people can buy souvenirs. They range from Chinese and North Korean flags...
... to books about former North Korean leader Kim Il Sung ...
... to fried crabs, which are sold as snacks.
And as night falls, residents hang out on the boardwalk against the lit-up Friendship Bridge. Across the river, Sinuiju is completely dark.
Investors hope that Kim's March trip to Beijing means that China-North Korea trade will start growing again.
They hope Dandong could eventually become the next Shenzhen — a southeastern border city between Hong Kong and mainland China that thrived in recent years because of its unique position.
