Getting Around Dandong
Dandong is a compact border city on the Yalu River, and most of what a visitor wants to see sits close together along the riverfront. How you move around depends largely on where you're staying and how comfortable you are with Chinese-language signs and apps.
On Foot
If you base yourself in the original central business district near the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, walking is often all you need for a short stay. The city's main draw for Western visitors, the river promenade with its views across to North Korea, is easily reachable on foot from this area.
One practical warning: pedestrian walkways are frequently blocked by parked cars, so you'll often find yourself walking in the bike lane instead. Keep an eye out for traffic.
Rail
Dandong is served by its main railway station, Dandong railway station, which is the arrival point for trains from Shenyang and for night trains from Beijing, Dalian, Changchun and Qingdao. The station is also the reference point for other transport: the long-distance bus station sits nearby, and buses to the international ferry terminal leave from in front of it.
Dandong is connected by rail with Shenyang and with Sinuiju in North Korea, and it is possible to take the train onward to Pyongyang and even Moscow. For getting around within the city itself, however, rail is not a practical option for visitors — the city has no metro or tram network, so local travel is by bus, taxi, bike or on foot.
Buses
Local buses are an efficient and very affordable way to cross the city, provided you can read Chinese, since route information and stops are in Chinese. Fares are flat, with the lowest fare for ordinary lines and a slightly higher fare mostly on lines running out to the new district, which lies some distance from the original town.
Be aware that service hours vary by line and some routes stop running as early as 18:00, so plan evening trips accordingly.
One route worth knowing is line 303, useful for visitors heading to the large, relatively new double-arch bridge across the Yalu River. It runs from the main road at the exit of the Broken Bridge (Duanqiao) stop — across the street, turning right and walking a few metres — to the northern block of the new district at the Guoanlukou stop, from which it's about a ten-minute walk to the river promenade and the bridge.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
If the language barrier makes buses difficult, taxis are probably your best bet for getting around. They are plentiful across the city, so waits are rarely long.
Fares are simple in practice: almost all drivers will take you anywhere inside the city for a flat low fare, while a trip from downtown out to the new district costs considerably more. Two precautions are worth remembering. First, make sure the driver actually activates the meter. Second, keep an eye on it during the ride, as the meter may "accidentally" switch off, after which the driver may demand more money than the fare should be.
Shared Bikes
Bicycles are a great way to explore Dandong, but the big national bike-share operators don't run here, so you're left with local alternatives that mostly assume you read Chinese.
- ZXBike (Zhixiangdanche): seagreen bikes recognisable by the solar panel mounted behind the seat. You need their app, which is Chinese-only, to unlock one; iOS users can get it from the App Store and Android users can download it from the company's website. The bikes aren't as easy to find as in China's largest cities, but the app shows a map of nearby ones. They can only be used within the original town and cannot be taken to the new district. Pricing is a small per-30-minute charge once unlocked.
- Government orange bikes: available from docking stations, which are most frequent along the river promenade. They can only be hired with the smartcard also used to pay local bus fares, and that card can only be obtained from a particular government office in town — not worth the effort unless you actually live in Dandong.
Getting In from the Airport
Dandong Langtou Airport (DDG) lies west of town and handles flights from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Yantai and Chengdu. An airport shuttle is available for a modest flat fare.
Because flights to Dandong are frequently cancelled, a common and often more reliable strategy is to fly into Dalian or Shenyang instead and continue to Dandong by train or bus. From Dalian, the train takes a few hours while the bus takes somewhat longer; from Shenyang, the bus takes a few hours. Long-distance buses also connect Dandong with Beijing, Tonghua and Dalian, with express buses to Dalian leaving from the Baoshan Shicheng on Gong'an Jie.
Arriving by Ferry
For travellers coming from South Korea, the Dandong International Ferry Company runs the ferry Oriental Pearl between Dandong and Incheon. It departs Incheon on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons, arriving in Dandong the following morning, and leaves Dandong on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday afternoons, arriving in Incheon the next morning. The crossing takes about fifteen hours. Onboard food must be paid for in South Korean won, and currency exchange at the Dandong terminal is not available. Buses to the ferry terminal leave Dandong in front of the train station around midday; ask at the station for details.