Summer nights at Dandong’s waterfront can be quite surreal. The evening starts early. About half an hour before the sun sets the Chinese border city begins a transformation into a bizarre Pyongyang themed mini-Las Vegas.
All in Borderlands
SKIRTING THE BORDER
Only the narrow Yalu and Tumen rivers separate neighbors China and North Korea. The river banks are so close to each other that people can easily see across the border, and into each other’s lives.
NORTH KOREA CHINESE STYLE
Dandong, in China’s northeast Liaoning Province is a city of rumors and spies. Locals remark “Sometimes in Dandong, you just feel what’s going on.” Dandong is the closest you can get to North Korea without actually visiting.