Part 2 of exploring Chinese towns at the border with the DPRK during the 2021 COVID-19 pandemic. We follow Minhye as she takes a trip to Tumen City (图们市). Tumen city is a small town that is part of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, located in Jilin Province in northeast China. It has an ethnic Korean population of approximately 80,000.
Since January 2020, the DPRK has shut its borders due to the COVID-19 virus. China has also implemented strict border controls to maintain their zero-COVID strategy. It has been almost two years since tourism halted between these two friendly neighbours. With no more tours to the DPRK being offered, what is life and tourism like in the Chinese border towns during such times? Our resident contributor made recent trips to visit border towns along the Yalu River and Tumen River. Join Minhye on her journey as she explores the Changbai Korean Autonomous County
Kim Il Sung’s birthday was designated an official holiday in 1967. However this date was later named “Day of the Sun” on the 3rd anniversary of his death in 1997. The “Sun” refers to President Kim Il Sung as the eternal “Sun of Korea”.
The Tower of Juche Ideology was built in 1982 to commemorate the 70th birthday of President Kim Il Sung and sits prominently by the Taedong River. I was told by the local guide that the tower was built with 25,550 granite blocks, each representing a day in President Kim Il Sung’s life up until his […]
Chongsu (청수) North Pyongan Province, North Korea. Over at Dandong, you can hire the local Chinese boatmen to take you on a private cruise along the Yalu River.
