Lüshunkou Naval Port, Russo-Japanese Prison, and Submarine Museum in Dalian: A Late Autumn Note

If you travel to Dalian, if you have time, you should still visit Lüshun: although its history is not long, it is closely tied to China's modern and contemporary history, and it is also a naval port of the Chinese Navy. Therefore, if you go to Dalian without visiting Lüshun, it seems like something is missing. In Lüshun, we mainly visited: the Russo-Japanese Prison, the Japanese Kwantung Army Headquarters, the Lüshun Museum, the naval port, and the Submarine Museum.

The Russo-Japanese Prison covers a considerable area. It was originally a Russian prison (built in 1902). After Japan occupied Lüshun, it was expanded in 1907 and became a prison for the Japanese occupation forces. The Russo-Japanese Prison covers nearly 30,000 square meters, with more than 200 cells of various sizes, and over a dozen factories where “prisoners” were forced to labor. Chinese and Korean anti-war activists and revolutionaries were imprisoned and massacred here in large numbers! Today, the Russo-Japanese Prison has been fully renovated and has become a patriotic education base. I have visited several similar prisons in China, and I feel that this Russo-Japanese Prison is quite good in terms of its scale, architectural style, exhibits, and historical presentation. It is worth seeing.

The Lüshun Museum is a good place to learn about the history of Lüshun, deeply influenced by Russia and Japan. I bought a book about Lüshun there. The Japanese Kwantung Army Headquarters is not far from the Lüshun Museum. The building itself is not tall; if not for the fact that the Kwantung Army headquarters was once located there, you would never imagine that this building has such an “extraordinary” history.

Not far from the Kwantung Army Headquarters, there is a tall monument dedicated to the Soviet Red Army, which stands right at the entrance of the headquarters (a rather well-chosen location).

As for the Lüshun Naval Port, it is a must-visit. Since it is a military port, it is not possible to see the entire port; you can only catch a glimpse of it from the seaside. It was a cloudy autumn day, with deep blue sea water very calm, heavy clouds hanging low in the sky, giving a somewhat oppressive feeling. Not many naval vessels could be seen, only the occasional sea breeze and a few passing birds...

Lüshunkou also has a Submarine Museum. The museum is small, and its core exhibit is a retired conventional submarine of the Navy (if you want to visit a nuclear submarine, you can go to the Navy Museum in Qingdao). The interior space of the submarine is very “cramped”. Although there are many compartments, each one is like a matchbox. Many sailors' bunks are folded against the bulkheads, and the passageways between compartments are very narrow. Tall people would find it quite uncomfortable. It is truly hard to imagine the various difficulties that the naval soldiers of that era had to overcome to defend the country while living in such an environment underwater for long periods! However, the exhibits and compartments inside are well-maintained and absolutely worth seeing. Although photography is not allowed, I couldn't help but take a few photos as souvenirs.

I went to Lüshun in late autumn. There is now a rail transit line from downtown Dalian to Lüshun, which was not so convenient in earlier years. Walking around Lüshunkou, I felt that this city is very quiet and clean. Sea breezes blow, pedestrians are few, vehicles are sparse, trees are neatly trimmed, and you can experience a foreign architectural style...

Looking back on my trip to Dalian, the amusement facilities and natural scenery in the city and its surroundings were also nice, but they seemed to lack something compared to Lüshun. China's modern and contemporary history has a deep sediment here, coupled with the quiet time of this coastal city in autumn. I felt that the trip was truly worthwhile.