Preface
Speaking of North Korea, this is a mysterious and strange country, although North Korea is relatively closed, but its every move will attract the attention of the world!
The vicissitudes of the sea, the mystery of North Korea has never been revealed, the Chinese have a special and deep feeling for North Korea, more and more people are looking forward to coming to North Korea and traveling to North Korea, not only to relive the turbulent years of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, but also to satisfy their curiosity and desire to explore North Korea, but also to deeply find the familiar old times!
From 2017 to 2019, North Korea briefly opened up foreign tourists to North Korea for tourism projects, out of curiosity, I signed up for a five-day and four-night in-depth tour of Pyongyang, covering Sinuiju, Pyongyang, Kaesong, Panmunjom, Mount Kumgang and other places, during which I not only appreciated the history and culture of North Korea, but also encountered North Korean characteristics and customs, and had the opportunity to taste all kinds of North Korean special food.
How to travel to North Korea?
At this stage, North Korea has not opened a tourist route, referring to the tourism experience before 2019, North Korea will not open free travel, foreign tourists to North Korea must participate in a highly customized travel route, after coming to North Korea, all actions are under command, food, accommodation and travel are arranged by North Korean tourism, the inviting unit is generally a youth travel agency, international travel agency and so on!
If you want to come to North Korea to find out, you must join a group, generally divided into: car group, plane group and train group, after registration, the travel agency for tourists to apply for a tourist visa, which is independent of the passport of another paper sign, will not leave a trace of North Korean sticker visa on the passport, will only leave the impression of entry and exit of China's border inspection, and will not affect the subsequent visa application to European and American countries!
It is worth mentioning that there are many entry and exit ports in Jilin and Liaoning in the mainland, and there are many border group projects in Hunchun, Tumen, Longjing, Helong, Linjiang, Changbai, Ji'an, Kuandian, Dandong and other places, but no matter which travel agency's project, the visit items after coming to North Korea are similar, and the landscape that tourists can see is almost the same!
When you come to North Korea, you need to be cautious about what you say and do, and there are many rules you need to follow, such as: It is not allowed to leave the ranks casually, it is not allowed to contact the local people casually, it is not allowed to photograph soldiers and military facilities, it is not allowed to take pictures of landscapes that are unfavorable to the image of North Korea and images that can cause negative associations, cash is limited to 20,000 yuan or 5,000 US dollars, it is not allowed to conduct any kind of interviews (or material work) in North Korea, and the wireless network function of electronic devices is turned off at all times, and no missionary activities are allowed.
When leaving North Korea, it is forbidden to carry North Korean currency out of the country, it is forbidden to carry relevant materials and related items that are not issued out of the country, and the limit of cigarettes and alcohol is two cigarettes and two bottles of wine per person.
Take the train to North Korea
Chinese tourists want to go to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, there are two options: plane and train, you can choose to fly directly to Pyongyang with Korean Air planes from Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang and other places, Beijing to Pyongyang 3 hours, Shenyang to Pyongyang 1 hour, but the old facilities, so that the process of taking people unconsciously pinched a sweat, fortunately, the North Korean flight attendants are very good-looking, giving people an exotic feeling!
In addition, you can also take the international train from Dandong into Pyongyang, Dandong is only about 280 kilometers away from Pyongyang, but it takes 6 hours to travel, no way, there are many mountains and rivers in North Korea, the railway passes through the mountains and tunnels, the road conditions are more general, and the speed can not be raised, even so, this is also the main means of transportation for most people to enter North Korea, accustomed to taking the high-speed rail, experiencing a slow green train, it is also a kind of fun, and you can also enjoy the splendid rivers and mountains of the North Korean countryside along the way.
Most people go to North Korea and choose to come to Dandong City in Liaoning Province in advance, where they can not only taste delicious barbecue, yellow clams, and strawberries, but also come to the Yalu River Broken Bridge to take photos and check in, and also go to the Memorial Hall to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Hekou Broken Bridge, Volunteer Army Park, Moon Island, Yuanbao Mountain, Hushan Great Wall and other places!
Take the bus across the Yalu River Bridge to Sinuiju, the capital of North Pyongan Province in North Korea, standing in Sinuiju and looking at Dandong, an inexplicable emotion rises in my heart, a river is separated, the scenery on both sides of the strait is completely different, Sinuiju plays an important role in promoting border trade between the two countries, the bus is bumpy on the iron bridge, this heart is also nervous and excited, and the mobile phone signal is gradually weakening, which means that it is about to spend a few days in North Korea "isolated" In such a day, the hymns of the heroes of the past gradually sounded in the ears as the North Korean landscape was revealed!
Sinuiju Railway Station needs to stop and wait for inspection, due to manual unpacking inspection, the efficiency is relatively low, arrive at Sinuiju Railway Station at about 10 o'clock, and set off again at about 12 noon, tourists need to wait for inspection on the train, the first wave of people get on the train to take away the tourists' documents to take away and check, the second wave of people get on the train to check the luggage one by one, mainly to check whether the tourists are carrying contraband, before departure, the travel agency has been informed in advance which items can not be carried, such as: media professional cameras, binoculars, Telephoto cameras with an enlarged diameter of more than 200 mm, electronic devices with GPS lettering, written publications and propaganda videos that are not conducive to the image of North Korea, fresh meat, and more!
It is worth mentioning that electronic products such as mobile phones can be brought into the country, but the North Korean customs staff will strictly inspect the storage information inside the mobile phone, and the pictures and videos with colors cannot be stored inside, nor can they contain film and television dramas from the United States, Japan, and South Korea (South Korea).
At about 12 o'clock, the train departed again, the countryside of North Korea, still retains the original pastoral scenery, you can vaguely see a trace of the life of the seventies and eighties, cooking smoke, fence courtyard walls, cloth clothes and shoes, driving old people, laughing children, laundry women, field labor, this scene is like the appearance in memory, there are many Asian and Western faces on the train, such as: Vietnam, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, etc., this international train is indeed very "international" It is precisely because of this that the outside world has the opportunity to get a glimpse of the truth about North Korea!
Bumpy all the way, the train finally arrived in Pyongyang at 6 o'clock in the evening, as the night fell, the Liujing Hotel in the night was particularly eye-catching in the bright lights, the Pyongyang railway station became the place with the largest flow of people in Pyongyang, the North Korean tour guide has been waiting here, after a simple greeting, he led everyone to board the Golden Dragon bus to the hotel where he stayed that night - Xishan Hotel, Pyongyang at night seems extraordinarily quiet and mysterious, the farther away from the train station, the fewer pedestrians and vehicles are found, there is no flow of people shoulder to shoulder, and there are no high-rise buildings in rows, this originally restless heart, with the night of Pyongyang has slowly precipitated！
What Pyongyang has seen and heard
To travel to North Korea, the short tour of the car group is almost all a few scenic spots in the coastal city, only more than four days of in-depth tour will involve Pyongyang, Wonsan, Kumgang Mountain, Kaesong, Panmunjom, Myohyangsan and other places, among them, Wonsan and Kumgang Mountain are not all groups have arranged, the capital Pyongyang is regarded as North Korea's "first demonstration area", 80% of North Korea is mountainous, and Pyongyang is named because of its flat terrain, which means "flat land", so all the matters of foreign tourists coming to North Korea revolve around Pyongyang!
In the past few days of coming to North Korea, tourists can see the main attractions: Kim Il Sung Square, Mansudae Monument, Thousands of Horses Bronze Statue, People's Great Study Hall, Triumphal Arch, DPRK-China Friendship Tower, Yoogyong Hotel, Mangyongdae, Pyongyang Subway, Mansudae Creation Society, Cheongseong-ri Demonstration Farm, Liujiu Key Middle School, Myoxiangsan International Friendship Exhibition Hall, Buhyeonsa Temple, Nampo City's West Sea Lock, Kaesong Ancient Capital, Panmunjom Military Demarcation Line, these attractions have the history of North Korea, Cultural and political characteristics, every time you go to a scenic spot, the tour guide will explain in detail, but it can be seen that the service provided by the North Korean tour guide is too warm and thoughtful, and it seems to be trying to show the beautiful living conditions of the North Koreans to the outside world!
When you come to Pyongyang, you can see old and new buildings, plainly dressed pedestrians, many people pushing bicycles on the road, and occasionally a few diesel cars driving on the road, but the number of taxis and private cars is very small, which makes one wonder who can own a private car in North Korea.
The tour guide explained: national model workers, athletes who have achieved excellent results in international competitions, university professors, scientists, etc., the above outstanding talents are eligible to get a private car, but it is only the right to use, there is no right to buy and sell, ordinary families can have a bicycle is a good economic condition, if you can afford to buy a motorcycle is a great existence, because every time a man on a motorcycle appears on the streets of North Korea, it will cause people's attention!
North Koreans are basically intellectuals, because the DPRK implements 12 years of free compulsory education, from primary school to high school are free of charge, the per capita education level is relatively high, North Korean children are versatile, many schools practice the practice of learning cultural knowledge in the morning, in the afternoon to participate in special training, can learn singing, dancing, Musical instruments, etc., tourists come to 69 Middle School to watch the student talent show, which is the performance provided by the students of the school, the difference is that the performance of the North Korean students is not only a simple performance program, but hopes to pass on the culture and spiritual outlook of the DPRK to the outside world through this form, so don't look at every North Korean student who performs on the stage is very young, but it is regarded as an honor, and their faces are filled with happiness and pride!
Visiting the Pyongyang subway is the only opportunity to get in close contact with the local people, which is also an opportunity for North Korea to show its prosperity and strength, the Pyongyang subway is the most important means of transportation for the people's daily travel, with a daily traffic of 400,000 people, and the local people take a 5 won, no matter how many stations you can take, the Pyongyang subway has two running lines, namely the Maxima line and the innovation line, with a total of 17 stations, which began construction in 1966, in China, Built with the help of the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries, the style is modeled on the subway style of Beijing and Moscow, the deepest depth can reach 200 meters underground, and the average depth is 100 meters underground.
In the process of descending, you can see that many people in Pyongyang also come to take the subway, the tour guide introduces that office workers generally handle monthly passes, the downward process has a sense of tension and mystery, when you come to the platform, you can see the carriage is red and green style, there are also some new carriages, the platform is very noisy, the decorative paintings on the walls on both sides depict the real events of history, there are newspapers and periodicals in the middle for foreign passengers to borrow, the Rongguang Station and Fuxing Station visited by tourists, as well as the luxurious chandelier decoration and colorful interior, it looks like the Beijing Metro Line 2, but I don't know if other stations are also such decoration styles, and the ride process makes people unconsciously sweat, because the speed of opening and closing the door is very fast, and there is no door closing prompt!
With a heavy heart, come to the Sino-Korean Friendship Tower, here the Korean people to remember the Chinese People's Volunteer Army martyrs with blood and life to establish the great achievements, Qingshan has the honor to bury the bones of the faithful, why the horse leather shroud returned, the tower body is made of 1025 pieces of granite and marble, symbolizing the Chinese People's Volunteers in October 25, 1959 into the Korean war, the inside of the Friendship Tower stores two copies of the war to resist US aggression and aid Korea, the purchase of 20 yuan a bouquet of flowers for the martyrs, here has a special emotional sustenance and meaning, the vision of peace is beautiful, but the law of survival of the law of the jungle has never changedNot every once backward nation can get out of the quagmire of modern times!
Food, accommodation arrangements for coming to North Korea
In the past few days of traveling to North Korea, there is no need to worry about diet, because every foreign tourist will be treated as a "VIP", which is also different from other countries' tourism, every meal is fish and meat, meat and vegetarian, and will also provide kimchi and Datong River No. 2 beer, you can taste North Korean food are: kimchi, cold noodles, bean skin, bean sprouts, mentai fish, pork ribs, hot pot, roast duck, bibimbap, tofu and all kinds of low-oil stir-fried dishes, these foods are more suitable for the taste of Chinese, there is no problem to eat full!
Foreign tourists come to North Korea, the hotel is called a foreign-related hotel, according to the grade is divided into special grade, a class, two grades, among them, the special hotel is the best, such as: Giethoorn Island Hotel, Goryeo Hotel and Miao Xiangshan Hotel, a hotel has two rivers hotel, Xishan Hotel and Youth Hotel, the second level hotel generally does not arrange tourists to stay, the facilities of each hotel are slightly different from the old and new, but they are undoubtedly the best hotels in North Korea, there is no need to compare with domestic hotels!
North Korean shopping experience
Before returning to China, North Korea tourism will lead tourists to foreign-related stores to buy gifts, such as: friendship store, Guangfu shopping mall, the first department store, Ayutthaya department store, etc., the goods in this are complete, but the price setting is incomprehensible, each commodity is clearly marked, there is no bargaining and forced buying and selling, you can use RMB, US dollars, euros direct cash settlement, but not allowed to use the North Korean dollar, as for the exchange rate, are shopping guides to calculate, the tour guide explained: This is an important way for North Korea to develop foreign exchange!
There are many North Korean specialties that Chinese tourists like to buy, such as: maps, magazines, newspapers, cigarettes, porcelain and jade, handicrafts, Angong bezoar pills, ginseng products, etc., such as alcohol and cosmetics with ginseng ingredients, it is worth mentioning that there is a cosmetics factory in Sinuiju, and the well-known Chunxiang brand cosmetics and Kumgangsan brand cosmetics are produced in Sinuiju, because many products are added with ginseng ingredients, it is recommended to buy some masks with ginseng added to try it, a 727 cigarette is 385 yuan, A pack of black-skinned peanuts is 15 yuan, a box of Angong Niuhuang pills is 700 yuan, and a box of facial masks is 100 yuan.
Customs
1. Come to Wonsan Cooperative Farm to visit, where rice and persimmon trees are mainly planted, and the grain output has reached 1.5 tons per hectare, which is equivalent to a yield of 200 catties per mu, which is still relatively low, but the North Koreans are proud, because less than 30% of the land area of North Korea is suitable for cultivation, and it is a great thing to be able to grow food for the production and life of the whole country with limited land resources. Jangcheon Cooperative Farm and so on, but some people say that this kind of cooperative farm does not represent the real state of life in the North Korean countryside, to tell the truth, this is the real state of life shown by North Korea to the outside world, and we should admit that North Korea's development speed is indeed very fast!
2. The living conditions in the rural areas of North Korea are relatively difficult, the cities allocate buildings, the rural areas are allocated bungalows, the rural areas are basically in a state of white walls and gray tiles, and families with conditions will build courtyard walls instead of fence courtyard walls, there is not much difference in rural economic conditions, there is not much gap between the rich and the poor, household appliances are relatively scarce, and they can afford to buy black and white televisions, sewing machines, The family conditions of the bicycle are not bad, if you can afford to buy LCD TVs and electric bicycles is a great thing, today's North Korean countryside still retains a relatively primitive living state, there are no plastic steel doors and windows, or oxen plowing the land, chopping wood for fire, soil kang heating, wooden doors and windows.
3. North Korea's rural areas mainly grow rice, corn and soybeans, due to external restrictions and lack of farming technology, North Korea's grain production is low, in order to increase production and income, many North Korean rural areas will call on everyone to destroy forests and apply farm fertilizer, the tour guide told everyone that North Korea's rural areas are green food, eat very healthy, but in North Korea's rural areas, most people are yellow and thin, thin, and feel less obese, the tour guide explained that North Koreans are lean and beautiful, and often participate in outdoor labor, so they are lean!
4. North Korean young people's ideological concepts are more conservative, and the marriage stage is not about cars, houses and tickets, but more about the other party's temperament and hobbies, unmarried men are called pants, and unmarried women are called skirts.
5. North Korean men like to follow the trend when they wear clothes, and learn what to wear when they see what others are wearing, and the highest probability of appearance is similar to the North Korean formal wear of the Zhongshan suit, which is mostly black, navy blue, and yellow, and the pants are a pair of dark trousers, this special clothing is called "people's clothing" in North Korea, with separate plackets, no discipline buttons, and inserted pockets, to put it bluntly, North Korea's "people's clothing" is based on the transformation of the Zhongshan suit, and these North Korean men like to wear people's clothes whether they are working, leisure, or even when they fall in love.
Write at the end
To measure a country's happiness index, you can't just look at the economic index, the North Korean people enjoy free medical care, education and housing, no mortgage and car loans, such a life seems carefree, as an ordinary person what is not satisfied?
North Korean life seems to be primitive and backward, but it is the most authentic and simple state, many people express incomprehension, thinking that the landscape seen by tourists is too limited, on the other hand, why don't we want to show the best side to the outside world?
The trip to North Korea ended soon, and I was quite emotional, when I said goodbye at the station, the tour guide was reluctant, I don't know if there is a chance to see each other again in this life, the tour guide told everyone: "Have a safe journey, welcome to come again", perhaps, there is no chance to see 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 come to North Korea to experience the customs here!