Where Mountains Meet the Sea: Hello Again, Dalian After 3 Years

Three years apart, and I hope all is well.

When I left Dalian three years ago, I never imagined that our next reunion would be after so many years. If I had to name my favorite city in northern China, it would undoubtedly be Dalian. It is a major port, industrial, trade, financial, and tourist city in the north, often called the "City of Romance."

Here, mountains and sea embrace, boasting China's most beautiful coastal road, vast and misty seas, and a variety of islands and rocky formations. There are so many attractions here that one visit is never enough to see them all.

Our trip this time was a bit tight, but we still visited some of Dalian's most famous places. Those we missed this time will be left for the next encounter.

Outside the Dalian International Conference Center in Donggang, there is an endless sea.

A red lighthouse stands on the water, guiding every ship home.

Dalian Haichang Discoveryland Theme Park was a lot of fun, and we even watched a "Survivor Game" performed by Hollywood stunt actors—truly stunning.

The new Chinese-style architecture in Jinshi Wanxiang is full of artistic charm and perfect for photos.

At the World Music Culture Museum, we learned about music and listened to the touching tones of various instruments.

In Bear Cave Street, there is the giant bear Beibei—truly a paradise for figure enthusiasts.

The 1930 Ice Mountain Industrial Culture Exhibition Hall, converted from an old factory, is full of character.

At Bangchui Island, although the weather was average, it didn't stop everyone from enjoying the breeze and watching the waves crash by the sea.

【Venice Water City】

On the first day of arriving in Dalian, after a short rest and dinner, we visited the Donggang Venice Water City at night.

I had seen it during the day, but this was my first time here when the lights were dim at night. Compared to daytime, the nighttime lights were more romantic.

Our first stop at the Venice Water City was to visit the World Music Culture Museum—a true paradise for music lovers.

This is a private museum, but also a national third-level museum. The curator loves music and has placed collections from around the world here for public display.

Upon entering the museum, we first enjoyed a performance by traditional Chinese instruments, including chimes, erhu, pipa, and zither. I absolutely love the timbre of traditional Chinese instruments, and the pieces played together were superb.

The first floor also has many photo-worthy spots, and the position of this piano is an excellent place for pictures.

In this museum, there is a treasure of the collection: the 1807 "John Broadwood" 9-foot grand piano, said to have been used by Beethoven in his last performance. Only three remain in the world, and this one is the best-preserved.

This piano can still be played, and we were fortunate to hear its sound.

The museum displays many pianos, mostly from different periods, each with its own characteristics. There are guided tours that provide more insight.

Besides pianos, there are also many vinyl record players and gramophones, all marks of an era.

We watched live performances and listened to the sound of vinyl records. If you also like this kind of sound quality, be sure to visit—it's absolutely worth it.

Listening to a piece on-site, I was immersed in the world of music.

The World Music Culture Museum, fully funded by Mr. Zhang Jingxuan, is China's first museum integrating Chinese and Western music culture.

It houses over 10,000 cultural treasures of Chinese and Western music and more than 300,000 classic music records. If you love music and retro culture, don't miss this place.

After visiting the World Music Culture Museum, we explored the Venice Water City. The best way to see it at night is by taking a gondola ride.

During the day, the architecture here makes you feel like you're in Europe, with many hidden treasure shops to explore. After dark, the lights add a romantic touch.

In April, the evening breeze is cool. As we rode the boat through the canals, the European-style buildings on both sides slowly receded, gently taking us "far away."

If Venice is too far, come to Dalian first—it won't disappoint you.

Secretly, when the weather is good here, the sunset is particularly beautiful—a personal favorite sunset spot of mine.

【Donggang Business District】

The second day in Dalian was the most important of our itinerary. In the morning, we attended the 2023 Dalian Cultural and Tourism Industry Development Conference at the Dalian International Conference Center, and in the afternoon, we visited Jinshitan.

The weather that day was also very cooperative—blue skies, white clouds, and warm sunlight.

From the hotel to the conference center was a short 5-minute drive. When we went downstairs, we happened to see a cherry tree in full bloom and couldn't resist capturing this spring with my camera.

We arrived at the conference center. The Dalian Cultural and Tourism Industry Conference brought together many influential people from various fields. The hosts were excellent in reception and arrangement, very thoughtful.

Entering the venue, we first attended the conference. The speeches were wonderful and gave us a new understanding of Dalian.

After the conference, we visited the Dalian Cultural and Tourism Development Achievements Exhibition. Each booth introduced their development features and achievements. After three years, Dalian has developed even better than I imagined.

Each district of Dalian had its own booth, showcasing their unique characteristics.

In addition to the district displays, there were booths for special crafts and products, helping us understand Dalian more comprehensively.

After the conference, with a little time left, we stepped out of the conference center to take photos of the sea in Donggang Business District.

Right outside, we encountered a hand-painted car competition. Each car was unique and beautifully designed.

I took a panoramic shot of the conference center from a distance—it's a well-designed building.

From the conference center, there is an endless sea.

The blue water seemed to merge with the sky, with a red lighthouse standing out on the water. Occasionally, a sailboat passed, cutting through the calm sea.

There were quite a few seagulls this season, flying over the sea and resting on the embankment.

Not far from the conference center is the Venice Water City, which we had visited the previous night.

During the day, the water city looks even more like Europe, with beautiful architecture. In front of the water city is a pier where you can take a sailboat out to sea and experience a different maritime time—if you have time, it's worth a try.

【Dalian Haichang Discoveryland Theme Park】

In the afternoon, we visited the Dalian Jinshitan National Tourism Resort, a well-known national tourist resort and key national scenic area. Located at 39° north latitude on the east coast of the Eurasian continent, it has a warm temperate semi-humid climate and is known as "Little Jiangnan in the Northeast."

It has many small attractions, including Discoveryland Theme Park, the Botanical Garden, the EX Robot Future Science and Technology Museum, and Jinshi Wanxiang.

About an hour and a half's drive from the city center, the area is well-equipped with many high-end hotels. If time permits, staying overnight is recommended for a more thorough visit.

The theme park has a wide variety of rides, mainly divided into six themed areas. The building forms are adorable, with candy-like colors that instantly lift your mood.

Here, you can freely search for your inner child, take beautiful and cute photos.

It features a double-decker carousel, roller coasters, water rides, and more, satisfying your entertainment needs.

Our first stop of the trip was Discoveryland Theme Park.

It belongs to the Haichang Ocean Park group, covering an area of 470,000 square meters, adjacent to the Ten-mile Golden Coast. It has world-class rides, global performances, and colorful seasonal celebrations.

As soon as we got off the bus, we enjoyed a special performance.

The iconic building of Discoveryland—seeing it reminds you where you are.

With limited time, we headed straight to the Crazy Theater to watch a "Survivor Game" performed by Hollywood stunt actors. The show was absolutely thrilling.

The stunt drivers were very skilled, delivering a "Speed and Passion" in a small space.

The high-speed chases with motorcycles, cars, and off-road vehicles were exhilarating, and we even saw real flames. Overall, this performance was well worth watching.

The adorable buildings inside the park awakened my girlish heart—I have no resistance to these candy-colored schemes.

Although the world keeps urging us to grow up, there are always places that reawaken our childlike innocence, allowing us to be ourselves without restraint.

【Jinshi Wanxiang】

Jinshi Wanxiang is a unique cultural tourism project integrating tourism, vacation, leisure, dining, and shopping. The total investment is 4.5 billion yuan, covering an area of 517,000 square meters.

It aims to become a Northeast Asian tourism destination. Its architectural style is very distinctive, especially suitable for taking photos in Hanfu (traditional Chinese clothing).

Upon entering, we first watched three performances, including passionate shows and gentle traditional music, with drum beats and the sweet sound of zithers.

After watching several performances, we developed a good impression of the place.

Strolling along the streets, we also saw a Chinese-style (Ming Dynasty) wedding performance. Traditional Chinese clothing is truly beautiful. I'm glad to see our traditional costumes being preserved and recognized over the years.

The commercial street here includes cultural tourism, cross-border trade, food shopping, and innovation and entrepreneurship. It also integrates the Yudian Hot Spring Villa Hotel, filling a gap in Dalian's cultural tourism market. This place will likely become a great destination for family vacations in the future.

【Shengtang Lanshan】

Winding paths lead to the grand scenery of the Tang Dynasty.

I didn't expect to find another photo spot like this in Dalian Jinshitan. If you wear Hanfu here, it would be even more fitting.

If Jinshi Wanxiang is more neo-Chinese style, this place leans more towards the Tang style.

The first performance we encountered upon entering was the "Unshakable Girl" (Budaoyong), a trend that spread from Xi'an's Tang Dynasty Never-Night City to all over the country.

Unfortunately, we came during the day and didn't wait for the night lights. Currently, there are many market stalls here, suitable for strolling and eating.

Shengtang Lanshan Hot Spring Smart Town is positioned as "the ideal light travel destination of Liaodong Peninsula and the new eastern micro-vacation cultural tourism landmark of Jinshitan." It integrates "compound" cultural tourism functions and creates a "all-age" cultural tourism lifestyle.

There are many stalls. I picked a couple of distinctive ones to record: special spicy sauce that looked appetizing, and our intangible cultural heritage paper-cutting, which shows how our traditional culture is preserved and passed down.

【EX Robot Future Science and Technology Museum and R&D Center】

Perhaps the most unique place on this trip was the EX Robot Future Science and Technology Museum and R&D Center—it's super cool!! It features bionic humanoid robots, 5G cloud robots, and incredibly realistic bionic wax figures of various fields.

This is China's first bionic robot museum offering one-stop robot services, a metaverse space experience science museum, and a robot R&D future science museum.

It's definitely worth visiting.

Even more interestingly, we saw "Du Fu" and "Li Bai" here—figures from ancient times who once appeared in our textbooks, now brought to life.

We seemed to see Du Fu writing poems with great effort, and Li Bai holding a wine cup "inviting the moon." Perhaps one day, our textbooks will become more vivid thanks to such technology.

Bionic wax figures bring historical cultural celebrities to life, allowing them to "face" us—names that once only existed in textbooks now have real images.

There are both Chinese and international celebrities here.

The upper floors mainly exhibit bionic humanoid robots, 5G cloud robots, and interactive technology products.

Here, we felt as if we had stepped into the future. The museum combines science, knowledge, and fun. For example, the future medical research direction we saw uses robots for more scientific and precise operations—maybe future medicine will indeed incorporate such technology.

This place is so cool, like being in a sci-fi movie.

Entering here, we couldn't help exclaiming "wow." For tech-savvy males, it's like being in "heaven."

Here, you can also enter their R&D center and see the real working state of robot researchers—how they use high technology to create robots and give them "souls."

The staff are very focused, and even with many visitors, they are not disturbed. We couldn't help but admire their concentration.

In the evening, we returned to the Discoveryland banquet hall for dinner. While parking, we watched a spectacular fireworks show. Fireworks shot up and burst, brilliantly colorful. Sparks dissipated in the air, followed by another burst. One after another, they illuminated the entire sky, adding color to the dark night.

【Bangchui Island】

Located at the east section of Binhai Road, Zhongshan District, Dalian, Liaoning Province, Bangchui Island is a scenic spot featuring mountains, sea, islands, and beaches. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides and faces the sea on one side. About 500 meters offshore, there is a small island shaped like a club (bangchui), hence the name.

If the weather is good, the scenery is fantastic, and it's comfortable to stroll along the beach.

The entire scenic area is called Bangchui Island Scenic Spot, but you cannot go onto the small island in the sea. Also, the beach here is not the fine sand like in the south but mainly pebbles and small stones, so it's not suitable for walking barefoot.

When the weather is good, the sea looks beautiful, and it would be perfect if you could see seagulls. Unfortunately, the weather on our visit was average, with thick clouds covering the sky—a slight regret.

By the sea, there are small houses suitable for wellness, truly facing the sea. It must be very comfortable to live here.

Besides the seaside, the environment is also good, with lush trees—indeed suitable for wellness. Take a walk here and take a deep breath.

【Russian Style Street】

The Russian Style Street is right behind the Dalian Train Station, with a history of over 100 years. In 2000, it was transformed into a tourist-style street. The architecture is truly Russian, with high artistic and scientific value.

It is also the first Russian-style street in China with 19th-20th century Russian architectural style.

This building is definitely the most iconic on Russian Style Street, with its red main body standing out.

This is the Dalian Art Museum, built in 1902 and designed by Polish architect Skrimovsky. It has three floors above ground, with exterior walls decorated in lattice style—a European building with Central and Eastern European residential characteristics.

It's very charming. The shops along the street are also in Russian style, offering everything from food to Matryoshka dolls and souvenirs. You can buy Russian bread and chocolate here.

On this street, we watched many performances, including Russian singers and dancers, as well as clown shows. When they performed, crowds gathered around—very lively.

Western symphony and our Hanfu performances were also present here. This place truly integrates diverse cultures.

Hello, Russian Style Street

That day, we also encountered university students sketching here. With an easel, some brushes, and paints, they ignored everyone's gaze and painted all day. It reminded me of my student years, when my classmates and teachers went sketching together—memories still vivid, yet so many years have passed.

It's like Dalian's version of Monet's Garden. Many shopfronts were "covered in flowers." Coincidentally, there was the Russian Street Garden Market these days, with creative culture and artisan crafts making it well worth exploring.

And there are cute Matryoshka dolls. I found them fascinating as a child, and I still love them.

【Bear Cave Street】

In Dalian travel, this place must also be mentioned!! Bear Cave Street is a paradise for figure enthusiasts!

It is China's first metaverse cultural tourism commercial street with a giant mecha beast as its IP—super, super cool.

Walking into Bear Cave Street feels like entering another world.

The first thing you see is Giant Bear Beibei, standing 6 meters tall and weighing 25 tons—looks incredibly cool! Although it seems like a huge creature, it can actually move! Its performance is vivid and lifelike; it not only slowly approaches you but also roars loudly, bringing indescribable shock.

Besides the eye-catching Beibei, the signs here have a punk vibe, super cool!

On the third floor of Bear Cave Street, there is a trendy toy street with unique limited-edition figure exhibitions—absolutely a favorite for figure-loving girls!!!

Best of all, besides new releases, there are many retro items full of childhood memories. Super cute Psyduck and Pikachu are irresistible! I really wanted to take them home.

Look what I found—Saint Seiya!! Such an old-school figure is available, amazing.

Recently, Slam Dunk was reprinted, bringing back many people's youth memories—it's here too, haha.

There's also One Piece, full of teenage memories.

Besides the figures on the third floor, the second floor gathers many restaurants with diverse cuisines—yakitori, sushi, Thai food stalls, etc. It's a place that combines eating, shopping, and playing—truly a full day of fun.

【1930 Ice Mountain Industrial Culture Exhibition Hall】

The 1930·Ice Mountain Industrial Culture Exhibition Hall is located at the national industrial heritage site of "Former Dalian Refrigerator Factory Foundry" in the Bing Shan Hui Gu area. It fully displays the components and casting production line of screw refrigeration compressors. Inside the factory, the atmosphere of the old factory hits you, recreating the past manufacturing process of cold and heat equipment and condensing the history of China's cold and heat industry represented by Ice Mountain—a very meaningful visit.

Basically, it has been renovated based on the original factory building, preserving the original appearance to the greatest extent. Such reuse of factory buildings is excellent, allowing our generation to see the past while serving as a popular science exhibition.

Besides visiting, it's also great for industrial-style photos.

Inside, there are two floors. The first floor mainly displays the DISA3030 casting production line and refrigeration compressors. Looking up, you see huge machinery—super cool. There are staff explanations, and some areas allow hands-on operation.

This cute interactive device reveals adorable dolls when turned manually. Such interactive installations increase the fun of visiting.

We may not be familiar with these parts or understand these industrial processes, but through such simulated scenes and immersive experiences, we can learn a little and get closer. For students, this might be a good place for scientific enlightenment, helping them find future interests.

The second floor mainly features cultural and creative products, suitable for shopping.

There are industrial-style chocolates, coffee, cakes, and various co-branded small items. I like these cultural products, so I spent quite a bit of time exploring.

Amid the wide array of cultural and creative products, we tried to find the fulcrum to leverage industrial history, getting closer to the eras we never experienced.

More and more such districts appear in cities now, which is really good for our generation.

This trip to Dalian was rushed but interesting. I visited some places I had never been to before in Dalian.

I went to Jinshitan, finally visited Discoveryland which I had missed, and explored two interesting streets.

Although the weather wasn't great, I still saw Bangchui Island. I hope next time I come, it will be under blue skies and clear waters.

Of course, Dalian has many other worthwhile places, like the must-ride tram, Fisherman's Wharf that feels like abroad, and the green Sanhuan Pasture. So I look forward to the next trip.

Dalian is very convenient for dining and accommodation. The city center, Donggang, and Jinshitan area all have complete tourism facilities—truly a great city for travel.

Soon, Dalian cherries will be in peak season. If you have a chance, remember to come and taste them.