Bingo and Ding Dong

So this time our travels took us to Bing Yu Valley with our fellow teachers and to Dandong, a small city on the border of North Korea. Trippy huh? So first stop was Bing Yu Valley for a lamb roast and scenic tour which ended after an estimated 10,000 stair climb and mountain temple. The stairs were a surprise ( as in no one mentioned them) and the park was gorgeous and commercial at the same time. Props to China for merging the two so well ;).

Newly hatched tadpoles
Bing Yu Valley, China

Next up was Dandong, home to the eastern most part of the Great Wall and crowd drawing views of The North Korea. I have to admit I honestly was surprised at how much of an industry being next to N. Korea turned out to be for this small city four hours north of Dalian. In any case we were not alone in our curiosity, although we left without getting our hands on some N. Korean money!

This flower is growing in China, but the land beyond (separated by a narrow river) is N. Korea
Dandong, China

View of N. Korea though park.
Dandong, China

N. Korean through telescope.
Dandong, China

Korea by night. China emphasizes the already striking difference by putting on a light show with fountains and lighting up only half of the bridge to N. Korea. The original bridge (which stands next to it) was half destroyed by the US Air Force during the Korean War.
Dandong, China

N. Koreans at border point. This is the closest we got ( although this picture is heavily cropped). At times we were about 10-15 feet.
Tiger Mountain, China

And back on our side of the Yalu River in Dandong...

Best, Corey