Video 1: Crossing the end of the Ming Great Wall
Video 2: See the broken bridge on the Yalu River
Along the Yalu River all the way to the south, the road is in good condition, all the way from time to time to see the villages on the other side, the Chinese side is the tourist attractions, resorts, farmhouses and restaurants began to become more and more dense.
When the sun sets in the west, I see an enemy tower on the mountain in the distance, which is the Great Wall of Hushan Mountain, and when you see this Section of the Great Wall, you are about to reach the city of Dandong
The Great Wall of Hushan was built in the fifth year of Ming Chenghua, that is, in 1469 AD, when the main role was to defend against the invasion of the Jurchens in Jianzhou, this enemy tower is located at the highest point of Tiger Mountain, east of the Yalu River, overlooking the road under the mountain, as the easternmost end of the Ming Great Wall, it is definitely a strategic place. According to the information, the Hushan Great Wall seen now is based on the "Hushan Great Wall Restoration Design Plan" adopted in 1992, which was restored on the site of the Ming Great Wall. This may also be the reason why this section of the Great Wall looks very new.
Because of the stop-and-go all the way, when they reached the Great Wall of Hushan, the scenic spot had stopped selling tickets, and only a few minibuses were left in the parking lot waiting for the last batch of tourists to come down the mountain, so they simply turned around at the bottom of the mountain.
Unconsciously, the Midtown Tower had been stained red by the sunset, and suddenly looked back, and there was already a remnant of the sun like blood behind him, so he found a place with few people near this ancient battlefield and quietly watched the sunset sink into the horizon little by little.
Near the Great Wall of Hushan, there is also the famous "one-step crossing" of the Border between China and North Korea, and there is even a "Sun Island" that makes me from Harbin feel very close. Also saw a volunteer army crossing the river ruins sightseeing tour of the pier. When crossing the Yalu River, in addition to the two existing bridges in Dandong, several temporary bridges were built upstream, and I don't know if it is the scope of this sightseeing tour.
I also found a pit on the side of the road with a lot of green trains, which are interesting because these trains do not have tracks connected to the outside world, I guess it may be a homestay. At that time, I circled around the train, found that there seemed to be no sign of opening, and had to continue to Dandong.
The Great Wall of Hushan is already very close to The city of Dandong, and after turning a corner along G331, you can see the buildings of Dandong appearing under the sunset.
Entering the city along the riverside highway along the Yalu River, on the right hand side is a dam wall two or three meters high, which is somewhat similar to the former flood wall on the Songhua River in Harbin, but much taller.
Dandong grilled clams in Harbin is the signature dish of many barbecue restaurants, and when you arrive at Dandong's first meal, you don't want to think about it, first come to the plate to grill clams and then say. In fact, Dandong is most famous for the strawberries here, which are big and sweet, but it is not expected in the middle of winter.
Although it is already dark, but the time to come to the Yalu River is not very late, this is the first time I came to Dandong to the Yalu River bank was the May Day Golden Week in 2005, not only ate strawberries, but also watched a musical fountain performance at this location near the river, but I don't remember if there was such a punching stone at that time. In the background is the Yalu River Friendship Bridge, which is a little downstream of the world-famous broken bridge.
The sculpture on the banks of the Yalu River, I don't know if it was built that year, is very imposing
Although it is a winter night, there are still some tourists on the riverside whose blue color is the broken bridge, and behind the deep night is North Korea's fourth largest city, Sinuiju
At night, the two river bridges change into various lights, illuminating the river water together. On the right is the Yalu River Broken Bridge, which began construction in May 1909 and was completed and opened to traffic in October 1911; on the left is the road and railway dual-purpose bridge completed in 1943, now known as the China-NORTH Korea Friendship Bridge, which is still in use.
Standing under the bridge, you can see the light of the broken bridge stop abruptly after reaching the heart of the Yalu River, and the place where the light disappeared is the place where it was blown up in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea in the 1950s.
Boundary Monument No. 11 next to the broken bridge
Broken Bridge is a well-known red tourist attraction in The country, so although the winter night is still very lively, this is also the only night I arrived on this trip that there are still tourists in the scenic spot. There are coin-operated telescopes under the bridge, through which you can carefully view the scenery of North Korea on the other side
Revisiting the place this time, I saw that the opposite bank had undergone obvious changes: since 2015, there were not so many buildings on the other side of the river, and at night on the other side of the river, it was dark and completely without lights. Because of the tight power supply, Sinuiju was out of power at night for most of the time, and even the street lights were not turned on, let alone in 2005. This time, although the opposite shore is still relatively dim, it can be clearly seen that many people on the other side of the residential building are turned on.
What amazed me the most was the construction of a disc-shaped building on the other side, not only the rooms were lit, but also the roof had a huge illuminated word. According to locals, the building is called the Sun Tower, with 23 floors, which is the tallest building in Sinuiju and is suitable for people who have made outstanding contributions. The four words on the top of the building are the meaning of unity, the building itself is red, but there is no building landscape light, and the red light seen in the photo is formed by the building reflecting the light decoration of the Yalu River Broken Bridge.
The next morning I came to the yalu river again, ate breakfast in the neighborhood near the broken bridge, and then found that the dam wall of the Yalu River is not only high, but also very thick, and this courtyard still retains a section of railway directly to the riverbank, I don't know if it is a relic left by the war.
In the morning, when I came to the riverbank, there was a layer of mist, and I took another photo at the same location last night, and you can compare the day and night of the Yalu River.
I came here very early and became one of the first visitors to the broken bridge on this day. This is my third visit to the Broken Bridge, but I have never seen such a quiet Broken Bridge, and standing at the head of the bridge, I think of the scene of military columns rumbling over the bridge.
There was no one in front of me when I stepped on the broken bridge
There is no need for me to dwell on the history of this bridge, which is now one of the first immovable revolutionary cultural relics in Liaoning Province
The sculpture at the head of the bridge is very imposing, and there are only two sentences left in the mind: "The male and the mighty are exuberant, crossing the Yalu River"; "Whoever dares to cross the knife and stand up, only I am General Peng"
The date on the calendar on the side of the sculpture is October 19, 1950, the day when volunteers crossed the Yalu River
The calendar on the side of the sculpture is October 19, 1950, the day when volunteers crossed the Yalu River
Through the steel beams, it seems that the train with the military flag can be seen, and the sound of the waves is like the singing of the soldiers
This bridge is an open and closed bridge, the Chinese side began the fourth pier on the steel beam can be rotated, convenient for the ship under the bridge to pass, in this pier can see the steel beam under the huge gear and rail and other rotation mechanisms
At the same time, this steel beam is also the end of the bridge now, and only the piers remain beyond that. On November 8, 1950, the US Air Force for the first time sent more than 100 B-29 bombers to bomb the bridge indiscriminately, the bridge was broken by the barricade, and the steel beam on the North Korean side fell into the water. On November 14 of the same year, the US military sent 34 more military bombers to bomb the bridge again, and the three piers of the DprK side collapsed, and the bridge was paralyzed. Until February 1951, the bridge that had been bombed indiscriminately was finally blown up and became a ruined bridge" (the text in the quotation marks above comes from Baidu Encyclopedia)
This is the state of the bridge when the rotating piers were working, and the photo should be from the 1920s
The remainder of the bridge appears to be intact, but in fact it is densely packed with bullet holes
The explosive marks of the steel beam near the fracture are clearly recognizable, and although more than half a century has passed, the smoke of the war has still left a distinct mark.
At the end of the steel beam is a viewing platform with an introduction to the bridge
Twisted steel plates and gears tell us that the bridge can never be turned again, and it is a constant reminder not to forget those war years.
Today, the Yalu River flows quietly, and the two banks of the river are calm and peaceful, and it is really impossible to imagine that this place was once full of war and smoke. I'm a photographer, so let's talk about photos.
During the day, the remaining piers can be clearly seen at the head of the broken bridge, and the scenery of North Korea on the other side can be seen relatively close. The shore on the opposite shore seems to have begun to freeze, and the Sun Tower seen last night is still very eye-catching. To the left of the Sun Tower is a Ferris wheel, which is the most striking landscape on the other side of the river before the Sun Tower
So in the 2005 photo, there was only this Ferris wheel, and there was no view on the right side at all, because there was really nothing on the right side at that time. I came here three times, never saw this Ferris wheel turn, asked the staff on the bridge, only to know that in the past two years, this Ferris wheel has occasionally turned, before it was really difficult to see it turn.
The China-DPRK Friendship Bridge is also the gate of China and north Korea and is not open for visits. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, North Korea has shut down its foreign tourism programs, so it is currently impossible for ordinary tourists to travel through the border.
Looking back at Dandong on the bridge, there was little change in the near distance, but the dock on the shore was less messy, but the high-rise buildings in the distance had obviously increased a lot.
After visiting the broken bridge, there is also obviously a lot of liveliness under the bridge, the merchant pavilions have also begun to open, and there is a big mother who rents national costumes for taking pictures, which makes the people here suddenly popular a lot.
When I bought a ticket to go to the bridge, there were several waves of people who talked to me: "Today is border clearance day, do you travel to the other side?" When talking with the staff on the bridge, the staff told me that at present, the North Korean port is closed, no one can cross the border, and the so-called transit tourism of these people is actually just a speedboat near the mouth of the river on the other side, and every day in these populations is "customs clearance day". Sure enough, when I came out, I asked the people, "Can I go ashore?" The other party only replied, "To the other side!" "Don't say that during the epidemic period, it is impossible to go abroad without any formalities, right? I really don't know how many people can be fooled.
After visiting the Broken Bridge, another must-visit place in Dandong is the Memorial Hall of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea