We spent a view days in Dalian, a seaside city in the province south of Jilin where we live. We are grateful for this summer in China, but we were feeling a little antsy here in Changchun and needed to go someplace different for a few days.
Most Chinese beaches stay pretty busy, especially this time of year, but we found this one recommended because it is a bit more secluded (i.e. hard to find) and not crowded.
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| Our LONG hike to the more private beach |
The water was icy cold which kept us on the sand reading and napping but did not stop kids from going in for a swim. On our end of the beach, it was mostly Russian families, a few Chinese, and lots of brides and photographers.
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| Wedding photography on the beach |
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| Our hostel in Dalian |
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| Western architecture |
People say Dalian is the Hong Kong of the north, and while we have not been to Hong Kong, we imagine this means cleaner, wealthier, and more Western in style. For the most part, Dalian looked like most other cities we have visited in China, but there were definitely parts of the city that revealed wealth and Western influence.
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| Dalian is also very hilly, so our legs got daily workouts while we were there. |
Dalian is a port city which means more foreigners. As a result, Dalian has some good Western restaurants. Since we have not been home to the states in a year, we were due for some good Western food.
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| This is the Olive Garden, not the American one, but a pretty descent knock-off. The food was delicious, the meal was candle-lit, and the server was diligent, so while it cost more than we anticipated, we decided it was worth it (and still less than $20USD). |
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| Dalian also has a Dairy Queen so we stopped in and split a coffee blizzard. |
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| Eating ice cream-topped waffles at a more Chinese-ified Western restaurant |
And to top off our American experience in Dalian, we ran into some American presidents!
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We met this guy on Dalian's light rail system. His English name is Glory (named after a character in World of Warcraft). He asked to take a photo with us, and then we got into a long conversation. He had been looking for someone to practice English with and was so thankful to meet us.
As he chatted with Chip, I wrote down some of the things he said on a scrap piece of paper.
Glory: "My dreams came true. I finally met a foreigner to speak English with me."
"Today I have a new favorite friend--you two."
"It's so exciting. I know I can't sleep tonight."
The next morning, we both had friend requests from Glory on 人人网, China's facebook.
*****
Chinese amusement park. The only question in my mind is, "Why????"
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the water would be like swimming in Massachusetts? Even in July my ankles turn blue at first and basically the only way to get in is to take the plunge, and it definitely takes your breath away. You always see more kids out there too. Beautiful pictures--glad you got to get away, and I can't wait to hear about the amusement park!
ReplyDeleteThat looks a LOT nicer than the Changchun beach! Very pretty. I love the little boy on the train - so cute. We have only taken one train since Juliana was born (we hardly go anywhere anymore!). I think it would be more interesting now that we can finally speak more Chinese. I'm interested to hear about the amusement park and glad you are still alive! Miss you guys!!
ReplyDeleteyeah, that beach looked cold when i first looked at it, maybe because the sky was overcast. it's really interesting to hear about all the wedding photography that takes place there, though, even though it's so hard to get to!
ReplyDeleteglad you became an auntie to the little boy on the train! :)
and that you got to eat Western food--DQ and Olive Garden sound like great choices! do you find that your tastes have changed at all since you eat Chinese food so often, so that maybe some Western foods you liked a lot previously are now not as attractive? or is it still nice to have them as variety?
I think that we don't miss Western food as much now as when we first moved to China, but man, it still tastes delicious when we have the chance to eat it!
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