One of the best tourist cities in China, Dalian has been honored many times. It has been named a Garden City and one of the World's Top 500 Cities of Excellent Environment by the United Nations; and it is the only holder of this UN honor in China, and the second metropolis to win such an award in Asia. In March 1999, then President Jiang Zemin stated that Dalian was a "Bright Pearl in North China." He Guangwei, director of the National Tourism Administration, appraised the city and named it the "Capital of Romance".

A Garden City: Squares, Lawns, and Fountains

Dalian has 13 million square meters of green land, making it the leader of green land in North China.

The city has 50 squares, and no other city can compare with it in terms of the number of squares it has. There are the Haijun (Navy) Square, the largest square in China, and the third largest in the world, the Zhongshan Music Square, the People's Fountain Square, and the Xinghaiwan (Star & Bay) Square, the largest in Asia with an area of 1.1 million square meters.

Forty-kilometer-long Binhai Road is a well-known business center for fine-quality tourist commodities.

Architecture: Traditional and Modern

Buildings in Dalian vary in style: ancient Roman, popular European, ancient Russian, Baroque, Byzantine, Japanese, and traditional Chinese. The most distinguished buildings are the Hope Plaza and the World Trade Mansion. The buildings in Dalian feature the styles of ancient and modern, elegant and romantic, and traditional and Western architecture.

The Sea: Fresh Air and Seafood

Dalian has a coastline that is 1,900 kilometers long. With a mild climate and fresh air, it is an ideal place for seafood, sailing, fishing, and enjoying the sea view. Dalian is famous for its aquatic products, and its output of abalone accounts for 60 percent of China's total. The seawater is clean with a favorable temperature for producing salt. The proportion of salt in Dalian's sea, which is 30 percent, makes it ideal for precious aquatic products to thrive, making them nutritious, fresh, and tasty.

Dalian takes pride in its talented personages: Many long distance runners under Coach Ma Junren are world record holders; the majority of China's soccer team members and coaches who participated in the World Cup are from Dalian; the Dalian Soccer Team has walked away with six trophies among eight Grade A, national, professional competitions.

Dalian is also a cradle of composers, singers, dancers, fashion models, writers, painters, and movie stars. Someone owed the emergence of talented people to the fine-quality seafood in Dalian.

Jinshi Beach and Lushun: A Destination for Holiday Makers

The Dalian Jinshi Beach National Holiday Resort is attractive with its oddly-shaped rocks - the superlative craftsmanship of nature. Among the rocks is the Turtle-Shell Rock, which is 600 million years old. The Jinshi Beach is known as the Geological Museum of China. Jinshi Golf Court ranks sixth among the world's 40,000 golf courts. Other places of interest include the Jinshi Country Club, the China Martial Arts Center, the Model Film and Television Art Center, the Hunting Club, the International Convention Center, the Geothermal Springs, the Maple Leaves International School, the Golden Coast, and the Wedding Paradise.

The Bingyugou Holiday Resort is famed as the Lesser Guilin in North China because of its splendid natural scenery.

Another eye-catching view in Dalian proper is its 40 policewomen patrolling on horseback. The boundary line of the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea also provides another fantastic scenic view.

Lushun, a district of Dalian, is known as a museum of contemporary Chinese history. Places of historic interest are the Lushun Museum and the old sites of the Japanese and Russian prisons. The city also has the largest snake museum in Asia, where Snake Island, Bird Island, and Pig Island are located. Other tourist attractions in Lushun include Mt. Laotie Hot Spring, the World Peace Park, and the Water Amusement Park.

A Center for Festivals and Tourist Activities

Dalian plays host to many festivals and international activities, such as the International Fashion Festival, the Admiration of Chinese Scholartrees, the Marathon, the Firecrackers and Fireworks to Herald the Spring, and the International Beer Festival. All these activities have drawn numerous visitors from home and abroad.

Every Spring Festival, China's most important festival, Dalian's Firecrackers and Fireworks festival attracts many visitors who have come to the city to light firecrackers and eat dumplings.

In September, the Dalian International Fashion Festival features various cultural, tourist, and economic activities, such as evening performances on squares, fashion shows, concerts, young fashion designers' contests, and trade fairs for garments and fashion materials.

Hospitable Dalian: Welcomes Friends from Afar

The people of Dalian are hospitable. There are 160 star-rated hotels in the city, 15 of which are five and four star hotels, and 20 international travel agencies. Visitors are also welcome to live with farmers, fishers, and urban residents to learn more about the lifestyle of the locals.

Dalian enjoys convenient transportation. Seven flights are scheduled between Dalian and Japan every day, and the flight is only 2 hours long. It takes only an hour to Seoul, 3.5 hours to Hong Kong, and 2 hours to Xi'an. There are 15 flights to Beijing a day, 50 minutes for each trip.

A plan to visit Beijing and Xi'an, both ancient cultural cities in China, would be perfect if it includes a visit to Dalian, a modern metropolis. A visit to these three places would offer a tourist an opportunity to get to know the nation's past and present.

Five honors for Dalian:

"The Capital of Romance" ------------ the brand of Dalian tourism

"The Bright Pearl in North China"-------the Gold Medal of Dalian tourism

"One of the World's Top 500 Cities of Excellent Environment"----------the highest honor for Dalian tourism

"Contest in Beijing, Sightseeing in Dalian"-----------the signboard of Dalian tourism

Jinshi Beach, Lushun, Bingyugou, Xinghai Bay, the Marine Museum at Tiger Beach, Sun Asia Marine World, Forest Zoo, Binhai Road, policewomen patroling on horseback, international festivals, seafood, the Zitan Pavilion, the Aolianna Yacht, a 3-dimensional movie theater, the Modern Museum, the Natural Museum, and Sledge Hammer Island-----------------tourist attractions in Dalian

(China Pictorial May 16, 2003)