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Preface
The world is big, those scenery that have never been seen, far more vast than you imagined, it is better to see than to hear, break through the preset pride and prejudice, in order to feel the fun of travel, come to a strange place, experience exotic customs, see different scenery, meet different people, life is not only in front of you, but also poetry and distant fields, for the neighboring country - North Korea, few people have come here, only have been to have the right to speak, the more mysterious the more you want to explore, out of history and geopolitical relations, to travel to North Korea, has become the wish of many people！
North Korea, a country that seems to be "close" but "far away" from us, the outside world's impression of North Korea has always stayed in poverty, backwardness, isolation, tradition, etc., and the introduction of North Korea on the Internet is too one-sided, the so-called "poor and backward" It's just over-propagandized, the same socialist country, although the development speed of North Korea is slow, but in terms of comprehensive strength, no country dares to underestimate it, in such a complex and turbulent era, North Korea can maintain a closed state for decades, it is not easy, Chinese feelings for North Korea are special and deep, more and more people are interested in North Korean tourism!
Thinking back to the past, the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the tragic epic, moving, Changjin Lake, Longyuanli, Songgu Peak, Datong River, In 2014, it was confirmed that a total of 197653 martyrs died in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and many existing veterans want to take advantage of their lifetime to come to North Korea again to remember that eventful years and the deceased in the past！
The following is to share with you what I saw and heard during my trip to North Korea, this article is 7300 words, it takes about 5 minutes to read, friends who are interested in North Korea, please collect it and read it slowly:
Transportation: Traveling to North Korea by train or plane is a very different experience!
Before leaving, my friend said that I was too bold, for this socialist public ownership country with free medical care, material distribution, free education, and free housing, my heart was full of strong curiosity and desire to explore, but I really came to North Korea to understand a truth:
A few years ago, travel to North Korea was not open to free travel, you can only sign up through domestic travel agencies, participate in the highly customized travel route throughout the process, the visa is handled by the travel agency, tourists only need to provide a photo of the first page of the passport and an inch photo, no need to send the original passport to the travel agency, North Korea tour group is divided into, the five-day in-depth tour is more than the four-day tour of Wonsan or Mt. Kumgang, the price is different, but most of the attractions revolve around Pyongyang, and every day is also in the hotel accommodation in Pyongyang!
If you want to travel to North Korea, you can choose Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang and other places to fly directly to Pyongyang, or you can choose to take a train from Beijing, Dandong and other places to Pyongyang, of course, most tourists will choose to gather in Dandong, or take an international train across the Yalu River, stop in Sinuiju, arrive at Pyongyang Railway Station, or choose to enter Sinuiju by land, and then choose a train or plane from Sinuiju to Pyongyang, no matter what, Dandong is the most cost-effective, come to Dandong in advance and you can also taste open fire barbecue, strawberries, yellow clams, You can also come to the Yalu River Broken Bridge to take pictures and check in.
I still remember that the train I took at that time departed from Dandong Railway Station at 10 o'clock in the morning, and seven or eight minutes later it would cross the Yalu River Bridge to the railway station in Sinuiju, the capital of North Pyongan Province of North Korea. The arrival card is handed in, the staff will stamp the entry stamp at the visa line, all the electronic products in the hands of tourists must be handed over to the registration information, and the declaration form is required to be filled in, how many electronic products are brought when entering the customs, and how much should be when leaving the customs, at least the number should be the same, because the train is to be transferred to the Sinuiju Railway Station, the North Korean staff will get on the train to open the box one by one for inspection, and tourists can prepare chocolates, cigarettes and other items in advance to give each other, and the efficiency has been significantly improved.
At about 12 o'clock, after the inspection was completed, after the transfer, the train finally started again, away from the Sinuiju railway station, the mobile phone signal gradually weakened until it disappeared, I knew that the next few days will enter the state of "isolation", from Sinuiju to Pyongyang is only 220 kilometers, but the train speed is very slow, along the way to see the three thousand miles of splendid rivers and mountains in the North Korean countryside, along the way to pass through Yanju, Donglim County, Anju City and other places, the terrain is dominated by plains and hills, if you are lucky, you can see the driving Laosuo, laughing children, laundry women, The fields are busy, the fence and courtyard walls, the white walls and black tiles, and the smoke curling, this scene is like the appearance in memory!
Passing through the North Korean countryside along the way, you will find that many tree trunks are surrounded by white pebbles in a circle, and there are basically no cement roads along the way, and there are mud roads out of the city, and the east side of North Korea is mountainous, and the rice fields are mainly distributed on the west side, that is, the area along the road from Sinuiju to Pyongyang, and the houses in the North Korean countryside are basically built along the hillside, and the plains are reserved for agricultural production.
When I arrived in Pyongyang, it was already completely dark, there were few lights at night in North Korea, it was said that it was to save energy, the farther away from the train station, the quieter the streets, the fewer pedestrians and vehicles, the dark roads, the citizens of Pyongyang on bicycles needed to move forward with flashlights, and there was no rush of people and rows of high-rise buildings along the way, this restless heart also quieted down, the North Korean tour guide waited at the exit of the station, picked up the tourists and took the bus to the hotel where they stayed that night, the bus introduced themselves and explained some precautions, and after arranging dinner, the first day's trip ended！
I also chose to enter North Korea by plane, when it was from Shanghai to North Korea by plane, security stage, everything went well, travel agencies have been raised to inform the precautions, the flight is operated by Korean Air JS152, these planes are the former Soviet Union in the 60s production and use so far, the experience process makes people sweat, from the ferry car down, finally saw the real body of the North Korean plane, when boarding the plane saw the true face of the North Korean flight attendant, sure enough, "South man North woman" This sentence describes it very appropriately, North Korean women are naturally beautiful and difficult to give up, without plastic surgery to give people a feeling of exotic style, white skin and beauty, dignified posture, elegant demeanor, unique temperament, such exotic customs are difficult to see in other countries!
There is a time difference between North Korea and China, it is early in the morning when it lands at Pyongyang Shunan International Airport, after landing, the mobile phone will enter a state of no signal, officially out of the customs at 2 o'clock in the morning, North Korea International Travel Agency uniformly distributes buses, a tour guide (female), a security officer (male), a driver (male) with the whole group, even if it is a group of people, North Korea will send at least 2 tour guides to accompany the whole process.
The role of Chinese travel agencies in North Korea tourism is similar to that of intermediaries, on the one hand, it is responsible for contacting Chinese tourists, on the other hand, it is responsible for contacting North Korean state-run travel agencies, after the group is formed, the work is over after sending tourists to the port, and the rest is the North Korean travel agency is responsible for docking.
It is worth mentioning that whether it is a train into North Korea, or a plane into North Korea, the visa is a separate paper signed by the travel agency, and it is valid when used with a passport, and the Chinese tour guide will be issued to everyone on the morning of departure, and it will be taken back by the North Korean customs when exiting the customs, and the train entering North Korea will only leave the Dandong entry and exit stamp on the passport, there will be no trace of North Korea, there is no Chinese and English on the visa, but there will be a temporary North Korean name!
Regulations related to entry into the DPRK
Whether it is by train or plane to North Korea, it is necessary to go through customs inspection, the joint inspection department of China and North Korea has made many regulations, many items can not be carried into North Korea, there are many regulations to be observed during the trip to North Korea, abiding by North Korea's customs, laws and regulations is the responsibility and obligation of every tourist entering North Korea, travel agencies have repeatedly made it clear:
Before traveling to North Korea, the following items are prohibited:
During a tour of North Korea,
At the time of leaving North Korea,
Accommodation arrangements
In terms of staying in the hotel, tourists will not know which hotel to stay in advance, and will only tell whether it is a class or a special grade when registering, and even some travel agencies will not even tell the hotel information, both come and be safe, the special hotels in North Korea are Giethoorn Island Hotel (Pyongyang), Korea Hotel (Pyongyang) and Miao Xiangshan Hotel (Miao Xiangshan Scenic Area), the first class hotel is Xishan Hotel, Liangjiang Hotel and Youth Hotel, and the tour fee of the special hotel is about 300-400 yuan more expensive than the first-class hotel!
In the tourist season, Chinese tourists will give priority to staying in Giethoorn Hotel and Liangjiang Hotel, but North Korea's special hotel decoration, service, at best is the domestic 3-4 star standard, and there is no exaggerated noble luxury and exquisite elegance of the senses, tourists come to North Korea, can only stay in a double standard room, even if the husband and wife do not have a big bed room, the beautiful name is: good comrade, North Korean tour guide has the right to split the husband and wife to live with other people, if there are special needs to live in a single room, you need to make up the room difference to arrange!
The foreign-related hotel to entertain Chinese tourists, the facilities are relatively complete, taking the Giethoorn Island Hotel as an example, the total floor is 47 floors, the top floor is a revolving restaurant, the first floor is the reception hall, the interior is equipped with a golf course, a swimming pool, an international telephone booth, a shop, a billiards hall, a song hall, Restaurants and so on, can meet the needs of most tourists, you can come to the first floor of the telephone booth to dial the international long-distance call to domestic relatives and friends to report safety, from the moment of dialing out, 16 yuan per minute, after check-in, if there is a tour guide to lead you can go out shopping, no tour guide can not just walk out of the hotel door, the tour guide will stay in the hotel lobby until late, to ensure that no one sneaks out will go back to sleep, the first day on the road to run around for a day, tourists are physically and mentally exhausted, after the meal will return to the room to prepare to rest!
The hotel room is arranged on the 43rd floor, and there is a kettle, disposable slippers, Xiaoice box, toiletries, TV, etc., but there are no snacks. Drinks and family planning supplies, I can't find a few programs on TV, I can't understand or understand, looking out of the window, the quiet Pyongyang, it seems particularly mysterious, the mobile phone has no signal, I have lost the network, I feel bored, looking at the dark night, imagining that I actually came to North Korea at this time, this originally restless heart, but also slowly followed the silence, this night, sleep exceptionally peacefully, in the dream, I returned to my childhood!
Culinary specialties
In the past few days of travel in North Korea, the group meal is very rich, the tour guide will carefully arrange three meals a day, breakfast is generally solved in the hotel's cafeteria, lunch and dinner are table meals, you can eat: barbecue, hot pot, roast duck, cold noodles, copper bowl rice, red bean rice, miso soup and all kinds of low-oil stir-fried vegetables, North Korea's barbecue can not only roast pork and beef, but also roast duck, with kimchi and lettuce to eat together, the taste is still good!
Self-pay items are also available, taste ginseng chicken soup in Kaesong for 268 yuan, 3-4 people can eat a serving, more than the share of No. 2 Datongjiang beer 10-15 yuan a bottle, special pear flavored soda 5 yuan a bottle, flavored North Korean ice cream 5 yuan a piece, these dishes taste more suitable for the taste of Chinese, there is no problem to eat full, and in the process of eating in the restaurant, there will be North Korean beautiful waiters on stage, giving people a bright feeling, the performance will also invite guests to sing on stage, welcomed by middle-aged and elderly friends！
Glimpse of North Korea
During the tour in North Korea, in addition to the two days before and after basically spent in the car, the middle 2-3 days of the itinerary are full, North Korea will divide the entire tour area into Pyongyang area, Kumgang Mountain area, Myohyangsan area, Kaesong area, Qingpu area and other nine areas, tourists are difficult to visit all the regional attractions at one time, during this period, what tourists need to do is to obey the command, follow the team, do not leave the team and have contact with the locals, the North Korean female tour guide is hard-working, docile and lovely, well-proportioned and beautiful, professionalism can be called first-class, every day wearing short skirts and high heels to accompany tourists to walk and climb the mountain, every scenic spot will be carefully introduced to tourists, Chinese proficiency is up to standard, communication is no barrier, but can be heard, these explanations are recited in advance！
During the tour in North Korea, the tour guide led everyone to visit: these attractions have both North Korean politics, culture and folk style, the tour guide told everyone: to maintain a serious attitude during the visit, do not express inappropriate opinions, do not take half-length photos!
The roads in North Korea are not in good condition, the road surface is undulating, and along the way you pass by rest areas, where there are many shops setting up stalls outside, there are various specialties for tourists to choose from, peeled apples or pears only cost 5 yuan a piece, taste good taste, juice is very rich.
When visiting Pyongyang, there is a project to experience taking the subway, the Pyongyang subway was built in 1968, the average depth is located 100 meters underground, the deepest depth can reach 200 meters underground, it is the deepest subway system in the world, it is said to have the function of an air-raid shelter, the Pyongyang subway consists of two lines that do not intersect: the Maxima line, The Innovation Line, with a total of 17 stations with a total length of 40 kilometers, has a Japanese military flow of 400,000 people, and locals take a ride for 5 won at a time, and tourists ride for free, and only two of the stations (Fuxing Station and Rongguang Station) are currently open to tourists.
Take the rolling escalator down the process as if crossing, it takes 5 minutes to reach the platform, the decoration style is very different from the country, there is no splendor, Neon flashing, there are no modern service facilities, the surrounding murals and chandeliers, look solemn, the musty smell is a bit serious, the subway arrives at the station, passengers need to manually open the carriage door, semi-automatic attributes, the door is also very fast, the platform is equipped with newspapers, provide the day's newspaper for passing passengers to read, Pyongyang subway is very similar to Beijing Metro Line 1, I really don't understand why this activity is arranged!
It is worth mentioning that:
Every Chinese who come to North Korea to travel will choose to go to the Martyrs' Cemetery to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea to pay homage to the martyrs, buy a bouquet of flowers, bow and salute, remember the revolutionary martyrs, the selfless dedication of a generation, in exchange for the happy life of today's generations, draught do not forget to dig wells, in that difficult years, countless martyrs ancestors left their youth and blood and even life in that strange land, for that period of history, the elderly will not forget, when visiting, meet the old people of North Korea, when they see tourists holding the Chinese flag, they will unconsciously stop and salute the flag, which makes us deeply moved, these people are people with stories, people who know how to drink water and think about the source, in their opinion, the Chinese are their brothers!
Shopping
As we all know, Chinese tourists will buy a lot no matter which country they go to, the same is true when they come to North Korea, the tour guide will lead everyone to the foreign-related shops, the local shops are not open to tourists, the locals need to come here to redeem with material tickets, the foreign-related shops that tourists go to are divided into friendship stores, Guangfu shopping malls, the first department store, Ayutthaya Department Store, etc., the store has a complete range, many of them are imported, of course, there are many North Korean specialties, the shops here are clearly marked with prices, you can not bargain, you can use US dollars, RMB, Yen, euro cash settlement, but can not use the North Korean dollar, can not swipe card or online payment, as for the exchange rate is what is, are the shopping guide has the final say, the tour guide explained: This is an important way for North Korea to develop foreign exchange, after listening to the sudden realization!
Male tourists like to buy Korean cigarettes, ginseng wine, kimchi, dried mentai fish, etc., female tourists like to buy cosmetics, kimchi, handicrafts, Angong bezoar pills, etc., it is worth mentioning that:
In the process of shopping, the tour guide called incredible, Chinese tourists are generous, bear bile wine, ginseng tea, ginseng soap, sunscreen, Chunxiang brand mask, aloe vera mask, etc., especially popular, most tourists will not return empty-handed, everyone buys a lot, often hundreds, After all, North Korea implements a planned economy, in addition to the distribution of materials, everyone gets less living expenses, the average monthly income of Pyongyang workers is only 300-700 yuan, and the high-income group of tour guides is only about 1,000 yuan, they are surprised by the purchasing power of Chinese tourists, of course, North Koreans are very welcome Chinese tourists to come shopping, so as to drive foreign exchange earnings!
North Korean customs
1. The DPRK is a socialist country, and the people enjoy free medical care, compulsory education, housing allocation, job allocation, Material distribution, in the housing, North Korean people have the right to use but no right to buy and sell, rural allocation of bungalows, urban allocation of buildings, the size of the house according to the number of family members and status to replace, unmarried men and women live with their parents before marriage or live in the unit dormitory, after marriage by the male to apply for housing indicators in the unit, single people are not allowed to apply, the tour guide explained: North Korea has few older unmarried people, there are few men and women left, so everyone has a house to live, no mortgage, no shared area!
2. North Koreans' mode of travel, the countryside is mainly walking, the number of bicycles is small, and the family conditions that can afford bicycles are not bad, the train is on the way from Sinuiju to Pyongyang, passing through the North Korean countryside, you can see many walking farmers, carrying packages and walking slowly, like the 80s in memory, back then, we also walked step by step like this, but in the urban area of Pyongyang is a scene, the city people are very rich in transportation, in addition to bicycles, Pyongyang citizens can also ride electric cars, Motorcycles, you can also take buses, trams, subways, cars, these public transportation vehicles look very crowded, the carriages are crowded with people, Pyongyang citizens look at tourists with eyes full of confusion and curiosity, there are very few cars in Pyongyang urban area, because cars belong to the state, and the right to use cars will only be allocated to some people who have made outstanding contributions to the country, such as: athletes, scientists, model workers, Engineers and the like, there are not many private cars in Pyongyang, white license plates are buses, yellow license plates are private cars, black license plates are military vehicles, red license plates are foreigners' cars, the tour guide told everyone: there is nothing wrong with fewer cars, at least no exhaust emissions can protect the environment.
3. North Korea implements a free compulsory education system, from primary school to university, it is free to study, even stationery, school uniforms, School buses are provided free of charge, students can come to the Children's Palace to learn Xi literary and artistic specialties for free, North Korea also has a college entrance examination process, after the college entrance examination, people with excellent grades can choose to enter Pyongyang University to continue their studies, people with average grades can choose to enter the army to defend the country, in North Korea, being a soldier is a thing to be proud of, of course, there is a third option, that is, direct assignment of work, but generally enter the state-run factory as an ordinary worker, North Korean state-owned factory workers, will not jump ship and leave, generally do a lifetime。
4. Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, is regarded as a "pioneer demonstration area", where young people are highly educated and more avant-garde, young men like to wear people's clothes, trousers, shirts, ties, leather shoes, and leather jackets, which are regarded as a symbol of status, young women like high heels, dresses, black stockings, hand bags, lipstick, wavy rolls, and foreign-related service personnel that tourists come into contact with during their travel in North Korea, such as: flight attendants, customs, waiters, shopping guides, tour guides, The traffic police, almost all of them are young and beautiful high-quality women, and the quality, appearance, and figure of these people are all excellent, in order to represent the image of the country!
5. North Korean young people are more conservative in thinking, they will not choose to live together before they are unmarried, unmarried men are called pants, unmarried women's shoes are called skirts, in the marriage market, military pants, party pants, and school pants are more popular, North Korean young people will jokingly ask each other when to eat cold noodles, and when to eat candy is a meaning, North Korea's divorce rate is very low, the main focus on the relationship stage is the other party's temper, personality, hobbies, when married, the woman will prepare a rich dowry, once married, she will stay for life!
Write at the end
Just a few days of North Korea trip to the end, the heart of North Korea has a new understanding, the return, from the Pyongyang railway station has been close to nine o'clock in the morning, the same as when come, swaying for a few hours, in the evening around five o'clock to return to Dandong, in North Korea travel these days, the mobile phone has always been in a state of disconnection, can not receive information from the outside world, the train is about to arrive in Sinuiju, finally has a faint signal, connected to the Internet at the moment, the people in the carriage cheered!
Sitting on the return train, I have been thinking about what I have seen and heard and thought in the past few days, and my perception of North Korea has changed a lot, and we cannot judge the living conditions of North Koreans by secular values, because the North Korean people are spiritually rich and well-welfare, and everyone in North Korea has a job, food, and a house to live in, as one of the few surviving "pure lands" in the world In the face of complex times, we cannot close one eye to see the whole truth, for North Korea, we can only wish, hope that the life of North Koreans is getting better and better!
What do you think about such a North Korea?
#Let's have some dry goods#
Thank you for reading, I hope this article can be helpful to you, and when North Korea tourism resumes, welcome everyone to come to North Korea to experience the customs here!