North Korean Border

I visited the border of North Korea and China last weekend. It was a bizarre experience. The two countries are separated by the Yalu River, and at one point, it narrows to a meter-wide width.
The portion of the river I visited first was much wider, about the size of the Mississippi. The city of Dandong, China, where I stayed, is across from Sinuiju, North Korea.


This is the street parallel to the river. The banners are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, while hiding an ungainly building.


North Korea is the far bank. Lots of fisherman and swimmers were out in the murky water.


North Koreans in the flesh. I paid five kwai to peer at the opposite side through these binoculars.


Can you guess which side is which? This is at the end of the old Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, only half of it is still standing. It was built in 1909, and bombed by the American army in 1950. The new bridge, which actually connects to Korea, is located 50 meters up stream.



A street fair was happening when I was there. It reminded me of grand 'ole days, if grand 'ole days had squid-tentacles-on-a-stick booths every block.





The last thing I did before I left Dandong was to take a cruise on the Yalu River. It was pretty much a safari into North Korean waters.

It was very strange. Our boat, filled with affluent Chinese, Japanese, and American travelers (just one American), coasted along the river as we snapped photos and peered through rented binoculars. Aside from the lack of infrastructure, it wasn't too different from the Chinese side. The same fisherman were catching the same fish. The same school kids were wearing the same clothes. The same old men were sitting alongside the same river boardwalk. Political borders are so strange.