The world is so big, those scenery that you have never seen are far more vast than you imagined, those who see from the book, what others hear from the mouth, are not as real as your feet on that land, it is better to see than to hear, break through the preset pride and prejudice, in order to feel the fun of travel! For the Asian country - North Korea, few people have set foot here, but only if they have been there can have a say!
Traveling is not only a kind of enjoyment, but also a kind of learning, and its significance lies in experiencing different processes, gaining an in-depth understanding of a country's history and culture, customs, food and daily life, and finally sharing the knowledge, customs, and culture that you have seen and learned with people who have not had the opportunity to go abroad, and traveling to North Korea has become the wish of many people!
More and more people are interested in North Korean tourism, when North Korea is about to open up travel routes, there are too many "strategies" about North Korean tourism on the Internet, it is difficult to distinguish between true and false, each has its own bias, most people want to travel to North Korea in order to re-walk their youth and feel the unique social atmosphere of the 80s, which are mostly middle-aged and elderly, and young people want to travel to North Korea in order to explore the unknown and mysterious, after all, the more mysterious the more they want to explore,
Before leaving, my friend said I was so bold! In fact, traveling to North Korea is not to prove how bold I am, but just to satisfy curiosity, for decades, North Korea has left an impression full of mystery to the outside world, this socialist public ownership economy country, today is still implementing the rationing system, material distribution, free medical care, free education, free housing, such a welfare system looks very attractive, but if you have been to North Korea, you will understand a truth: want to jump into the comfort zone of North Korea, Let's see if you have the courage to live in North Korea for a long time!
Transportation
Travel to North Korea can choose the plane and train these two means of transportation, if you choose the plane, you need to take the flight operated by North Korea Air Koryo, you can choose Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang and other places to fly directly to Pyongyang, although the flight is only 2 hours, but the aging body facilities still make people sweat, on the plane, North Korean flight attendants will be required to fill in the entry form, the inviting unit is generally North Korea International Travel Agency or Youth Travel Agency, in addition to the need to fill in the basic personal information accurately, the visa is handled by the travel agency, It's a separate piece of paper attached to your passport!
If you choose to take the train, it is the K27 or K28 train, starting from Beijing, passing through Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning, entering North Korea from Dandong, and conducting about 2 hours of security check at the railway station in Sinuiju, the capital of North Pyongan Province, North Korea, it is recommended that tourists come to Dandong in advance to choose a local tour group, you can experience the customs of the Dandong border, charcoal barbecue, yellow clams, strawberries, and you can also go to the Yalu River Broken Bridge to take pictures, from Dandong Railway Station is at 10 o'clock in the morning, After arriving at Sinuiju Railway Station for 2 hours, we will continue to depart at 12 o'clock and arrive at Pyongyang Railway Station at 6 p.m., along the way, you can enjoy the natural scenery of the North Korean countryside: driving Laosuo, laughing children, laundry women, busy fields, fence courtyard walls, white walls and black tiles, curling smoke, and local atmosphere, this scene is very like the appearance in memory, no wonder some people will say: Today in North Korea seems to be our yesterday!
After arriving in Pyongyang, no matter what means of transportation, no matter how many people in the tour group, there will be a North Korean tour guide to receive, generally there will be 2-3 North Korean tour guides responsible for all accommodation, catering, and tour arrangements during each inbound tour group in North Korea, the existence of the tour guide is of great responsibility, the most important thing is to supervise that tourists are not allowed to travel alone, and tourists are not allowed to say things that should not be said, and take photos that should not be taken, because we arrived in Pyongyang at 6 o'clock at night by train, after a brief introduction by the tour guide, Along the way, tourists saw the night view of Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, through the window, there are not so many bright lights, small traders and hawkers, there is no shoulder to shoulder flow of people, rows of high-rise buildings, pedestrians and vehicles are very few, Pyongyang in the night, it looks serious and mysterious, unconsciously, a restless heart is also quiet!
During the tour in North Korea, there will be a special car driver to be responsible for running tourists to various scenic spots, almost will not give everyone too much opportunity to walk or contact with the locals, especially from Pyongyang to Kaesong, you need to take the highway, during the period also stopped in the North Korean high-speed service area for a while, interestingly: there is no guardrail on the North Korean highway, you can also see the ox cart, the so-called high-speed will not run too fast, the service area will sell peeled apples or pears on the spot, 5 yuan a, only accept cash, North Korean fruits are moist and delicious!
During the tour in North Korea, there are not many vehicles on the streets, the tour guide explained: North Korea's cars are owned by the state, it is difficult for individuals to own cars, it is good to have fewer cars, at least it can protect the environment, only people who have made outstanding contributions to the country are eligible to be assigned a car, most people travel on foot, bicycles, buses, subways, and the strange thing is: North Korean cars are also lit during the day, does it not cost electricity? The tour guide explained: This is for safety, to alert passing vehicles and pedestrians, to avoid accidents!
Compared with the backward rural areas of economic conditions, Pyongyang citizens have a variety of ways to travel, more and more young people will buy electric bicycles when they get married, a brand new electric bicycle in Pyongyang shopping mall will be sold for 3,000 yuan, which is a lot of pressure for ordinary office workers, and those with better economic conditions will buy motorcycles, and people who go out on motorcycles are always the most popular one on the street!
Accommodation arrangements
The hotels arranged by North Korea for foreign tourists are called "foreign-related hotels", which are divided into special grade, first class and second class, and most of the Chinese tourists who come to North Korea to stay are special hotels-Giethoorn Island Hotel or first-class hotels-Xishan Hotel, and they will also be arranged to stay in a first-class hotel - Youth Hotel during the tourist season!
Take Giethoorn Hotel as an example, the building is 47 floors, the top floor is a revolving restaurant, the first floor is the reception hall, the hotel is fully equipped with internal facilities, which can meet all the needs of tourists, such as: shopping, catering, accommodation, long-distance telephone, billiards, bathing, massage, singing, etc., but from the moment of staying in the hotel, the night is not allowed to enter and exit casually, Giethoorn Island Hotel is located on a small island in the middle of the river on the Datong River, and the identity documents of tourists are stored in the tour guide, and the tour guide will stay in the hall until late. Make sure no one sneaks out before going back to sleep!
The rooms of the Giethoorn Hotel are clean and tidy, most of them are double standard rooms, there are TVs, refrigerators, slippers, toiletries, air conditioning, hot water, etc., but the TV is equivalent to furnishings, can not find a few programs, and the picture quality is very poor, from the room on the 43rd floor of the hotel, Pyongyang in the night is too quiet, the mobile phone has no signal here, and can only spend a few days of "isolation" like days, but because of this, the heart has also begun to become quiet, less hustle and bustle, more peace of mind!
Culinary specialties
North Korea used to entertain tourists food is rich, delicious, full of portions, these foods are very suitable for the taste of Chinese, breakfast is generally solved in the hotel's cafeteria, generally steamed buns, dumplings, porridge, pickles, apples, fried eggs, stir-fried vegetables, etc., more like the configuration of domestic cheap hotels, lunch and dinner are generally arranged in special hotels near scenic spots, 10 people a table, 5-6 dishes, pork, fish and shrimp, eggs, etc., each meal is indispensable is kimchi, occasionally Datongjiang beer is limited, The special delicacies are: hot pot, barbecue, roast duck, mentai fish, cold noodles, copper bowl rice, bibimbap, ginseng chicken soup, etc., in the course of the meal, there will be a song and dance performance with Korean characteristics, and tourists will be invited to the stage together!
North Korean cold noodles: North Korea's most famous cold noodles are the cold noodles of Yuliu Pavilion, this is a state-run restaurant, up to the officials and nobles, down to the common people, you can come here to consume, Yuliu Pavilion is a good place to feast relatives and friends, entertain colleagues, family gatherings, North Koreans come to Yuliu Hall with the cold noodle ticket issued by the unit can taste a bowl of cold noodles for free, and tourists come here to taste cold noodles, the fundamental types are different, a bowl of cold noodles to sell to about 15-30 yuan, the cold noodles of Yuliu Pavilion are most famous for the copper plate cold noodles of buckwheat husk, with shredded chicken, Cucumbers, kimchi, beef, eggs, with cool and delicious cold noodle soup, it tastes very strong, sweet and sour, sweet and spicy, the water of cold noodle soup is taken from the bank of the Datong River, relying on the mountains to eat the mountains, relying on the water to eat water, North Koreans like to eat this delicacy very much!
North Korean beer: Every group meal is supplied with local North Korean beer, each person has a bottle of Datongjiang beer, marked No. 2, the taste is very pure, the taste is very good, not enough to drink can be ordered extra, you need to pay 20 yuan a bottle, a little expensive.
North Korean hot pot: One person and one pot, each person has a plate of hot pot shabu-shabu, including a few slices of meat, tofu and some vegetables, and there are two plates of fried fish, potatoes and chicken nuggets and mixed cucumbers at each table.
Korean kimchi: In North Korea, judging whether a family is doing well or not, judging whether a wife is virtuous, can be judged by the number of kimchi jars, and you can also taste whether the kimchi is good or not, Korean kimchi has a unique taste and a complete variety, including spicy cabbage, radish kimchi, cucumber kimchi, shallot kimchi and so on.
Places to visit
During the tour in North Korea, all actions are under command, and the tour route is also arranged by the North Korean tour guide, and the individual can not leave the team casually, the North Korea will divide the tour area into 9 areas, including Pyongyang area, Mt. Kumgang area, Myoxiangsan area, Kaesong area, and Qingpo area, according to the number of days, the daily itinerary is different, so it is difficult to visit all the attractions at one time, but most of the tour routes are carried out around Pyongyang!
During the tour in North Korea, the tour guide led everyone to visit: Juche Ideological Tower, Party Founding Memorial Tower, People's Great Study Hall, Kim Il Sung Square, Mangyongdae Fountain Park, Liberation War Victory Museum, Kim Il Sung Revolution Museum, Kim Il Sung University Library, Geumssosan Sun Palace, People's Cultural Creation Society, Pyongyang Triumphal Arch, DPRK-China Friendship Monument, Panmunjom, Goryeo Sungkyunkwan, Mangyongdae Former Residence and other places, these scenic spots are very characteristic of North Korea's national culture, and are also important places for North Korea to display politics and culture. The tour guide told everyone: keep quiet and respectful during the visit, don't point fingers, can't make inappropriate opinions at will, take pictures and obey the command, and can't take half-length photos!
During the visit to Pyongyang, there is a project to experience the Pyongyang subway, at first I didn't care, after all, the domestic subway sits more, it's not strange, but I didn't expect that the North Korean subway has so many different places, the tour guide led everyone to the Rongguang Station of Line 1, the North Korean subway is built very deep, the average depth is located in the ground 100 meters, the deepest can reach 200 meters, it is said to have the function of an air-raid shelter, tourists take the escalator down for nearly 10 minutes to reach the platform, different from the domestic platform, There are no bright billboards here, there are no modern service facilities, the most eye-catching is the crystal chandelier on the roof and the exquisite murals on the walls on both sides, North Korean locals need 5 won for a ride, rounding is equivalent to no money, the free experience process of one stop is over soon, the rumbling subway sound is very noisy, I really don't understand why this activity is arranged!
Shopping
Chinese tourists will be arranged before returning to China will be arranged a shopping and shopping link, foreign tourists go to the shopping place is "foreign-related agreement", the internal goods are complete, but the price is higher, few North Korean locals come here to shop and consume, such as: etc., the tour guide led everyone to the friendship store at that time, each commodity will be clearly marked, but the price is US dollars or euros, Chinese tourists are not allowed to use the DPRK yuan to consume here, you can use RMB, US dollars, euros direct settlement, as for the exchange rate, The tour guide explained: This is an important channel for the development of foreign exchange in the DPRK.
Male tourists generally like to buy Korean cigarettes, ginseng, dried mentai fish, cigarettes, soaking wine, etc., while female tourists like to buy Korean cosmetics, kimchi, handicrafts, Angong bezoar pills, and so on. It is worth mentioning that:
Customs
1. To this day, the DPRK is still implementing the rationing system under the planned economy, there is no private economy here, the industry or service industry is a state-owned enterprise, the DPRK does not implement a tax system, and the annual production is supplied to the citizens or used for reproduction according to the quota, the North Korean people enjoy free housing, 12 years of free compulsory education, material distribution, medical care and other benefits, most of the citizens of Pyongyang work in state-owned units, work from Monday to Friday, study or participate in labor on Saturdays, rest on Sundays, and go back and forth to their homes and units day after day, Most people are in the same position from the time they join the job to the time they retire, and this kind of life can be seen at a glance!
2. Chinese's feelings for North Korea are special and profound, not only because of the historical period of "majestic and high-spirited, crossing the Yalu River", but also because the border people of the two countries now maintain a shared sentiment of "a strip of water with water" because of the existence of the Yalu River, and Changbai Mountain symbolizes the bond of friendship between the two countries!
3. North Korea's rural areas implement a collective labor system, men work in the fields every day to earn labor points, and distribute food by labor points in November every year, everyone plants and harvests in spring and autumn together, and the farmers in a village are divided into several teams, and usually pick up garbage, carry goods, and clean the streets together, with an average monthly income of 100-200 yuan in rural areas, but North Koreans do not have the pressure of housing loans, car loans, and deposits, so the gap between the rich and the poor is very small, and there is no comparison and showing off, plus North Korea implements a strict household registration management system, Strict restrictions on regional movement in the countryside and cities of North Korea have left many peasants without much opportunity to come to the cities, and the checkpoints set up along the way make it difficult to move an inch unless there are very special circumstances that require a letter of introduction from the village, which is why there are no homeless people and beggars in North Korea!
4. North Korea's rural areas are short of materials, most of the North Korean farmers look yellow and thin, and their bodies are thin, although the tour guide quibbles that the North Koreans are lean and beautiful, but in fact it is because of the lack of nutritional supply, North Korea has no hybrid rice, almost depends on the sky to eat, the rice yield per mu is 400-600 catties, North Korea has a population of 25 million, and the per capita is less than one acre of land, due to the blockade and restrictions, North Korea cannot rely on imports to obtain enough food and fertilizer, nor can it export fish to earn foreign exchange, lack of production facilities and machinery, Irrigation and natural disaster resistance are also weak, drought in spring, floods in summer, typhoons in autumn, and agriculture can easily reduce production!
5. The Children's Palace watched the performance, the children on the stage performed hard, there were songs and dances, dances, performances, painting and coloring, versatile, these children looked young, the tour guide said that they were selected from primary and secondary school students, they are all very good, you know, North Korean primary school students are in class in the morning, participate in special training or social practice in the afternoon, and perform programs for foreign tourists are regarded as an honor, each child has an enthusiastic appearance on his face, but think about it, this age should have innocence, After the performance, the tourists enthusiastically sent stationery gifts to the children, but they just smiled but did not reach out to pick it up, just signaled to put it aside, and the tour guide shook his head helplessly!
6, Wuyi Stadium to watch large-scale group performances, at their own expense 800 yuan per person ticket, Wuyi Stadium is the largest comprehensive stadium in North Korea, can accommodate 10,000 people at the same time, 100,000 people perform at the same time, more than 60 entrances and exits, the performance process lasts about 2 hours, tourists watched fireworks displays, Chinese song performances, large-scale group gymnastics performances, such as performances "Fifty-six Nationalities", "Love My China" and so on, looking at the dynamic background wall and familiar Chinese songs, The feeling of being in a foreign country is really different, and tourists who have seen this show say that the money is well spent!
7. North Koreans' view of marriage and love is very conservative, in the stage of falling in love, most young people are introduced to each other, and they will not do too out-of-the-ordinary actions during the relationship, North Koreans pay great attention to premarital behavior norms, and it is already a very bold move to see couples snuggling together by the Datong River, the premarital inspection stage is mainly to see each other's temperament and whether there are common topics, once married, they will grow old, the divorce rate in North Korea is very low, and there is no TV blind date, newspaper blind date, Internet blind date, When someone asks, "When are you going to invite everyone to eat cold noodles?" Meaning to ask when you are going to get married! Because in the wedding banquet of North Koreans, cold noodles are an indispensable delicacy!
8. The DPRK implements 12 years of free compulsory education, students do not spend a penny to go to school, stationery and school uniforms are also provided, and hobbies are cultivated free of charge, the DPRK has more than 300 colleges and universities, more than 570 secondary schools, and famous institutions of higher learning include Kim Il Sung University, Kim Chae University of Technology, People's University of Economics, etc.
9. The dressing style of North Korean men is almost the same, and the highest probability of appearance is the North Korean formal dress similar to the tunic suit, which is mostly black, navy blue, and yellow, and the pants are a pair of dark trousers, which is called "people's suit", but the difference with the tunic is that the placket is separated, there is no wind buckle, and the pocket is inserted, and the "people's suit" of North Korea is based on the transformation of the tunic suit, and North Korean men like to wear people's clothes whether they usually go to work, stay at home, walk and go shopping, or even when they fall in love. North Korean men with certain economic conditions like to wear suits and leather jackets, and even carry a bag and sunglasses.
10. Young North Korean women have a strong ability to accept new things, the younger the North Korean girl, the better the clothes they wear, and the more styles they wear, the young North Korean girls who have received higher education like to wear stockings, windbreakers, high heels, lipstick, perm curls, backpacks, and walk very confidently, especially North Korean women in foreign-related jobs, because they often come into contact with foreign tourists, so they know more things.
Write at the end
When I came back from my trip to North Korea, I gained a lot of emotion in my heart, which gave me a deep understanding of North Korea, and everyone has a different understanding of North Korea.
The tour guide said goodbye at the train station, and on the occasion of separation, he was reluctant to give up, and he didn't know that there was no chance to meet again, and the tour guide told everyone: After the song, the fate is over, perhaps, there will be no chance to see each other again in this life!
What do you think about such a North Korea?
Thank you for reading, I hope this article can be helpful to you, and when North Korea tourism resumes, welcome everyone to North Korea to experience the customs here!