Dalian

Dalian, People's Republic of China

Zhongshan Square's stone bank facades in Dalian glow amber at dusk, framed by a plane tree and a street lamp in the foreground.

Dalian is a breezy port city where Russian- and Japanese-era streets, big public squares and fresh seafood meet a long, walkable coastline.

The place

Dalian sits at the southern tip of the Liaodong peninsula in Liaoning province, a port city of about 7.45 million people on ground that averages only 29 metres above sea level. Water surrounds it on three sides: Liaodong Bay to the west, the Bohai Strait to the south and Korea Bay to the east. Shenyang, the provincial capital, is larger, but Dalian is the northeastern city that actually faces the open sea, and that shapes everything from its weather to its menus. Today it works as a shipping, finance and logistics hub for East Asia. Container cranes and shipyards line parts of the harbour, while the older centre spreads out from round, tree-lined squares laid out when the city was founded in 1904. The city has worn several names: Dalniy under Russia, Dairen under Japan, Lüda for a spell, and Dalian now. Port Arthur, the old naval name, survives in the Lüshun district at the very tip of the peninsula. Most of the built-up area lies in the urban districts, while Pulandian, further out, has not yet been absorbed. Domestic tourists treat Dalian as a seaside break, which explains the long promenades, the hillside parks and the beaches that fill at weekends in summer. Winters are cold and windy, summers are warm and damp with sea fog, and spring and autumn are the easy seasons. It feels greener and calmer than most Chinese cities of its size, though traffic in the centre is still dense.

Its story

Dalian has a long, layered past but a short life as a city. The peninsula passed between Chinese dynasties and the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo over many centuries, and the area carried different names in different eras, among them Sanshan and, later, Qingniwa. By the Qing period the walled town of Jinzhou, north of today's centre, was the local hub of trade and politics, and the government fortified the peninsula. A small town grew from mining camps along the north shore of the bay, close to where the modern downtown stands. British forces held Qingniwa for a short time during the Second Opium War, then handed it back to Qing control. Port Arthur, at the peninsula's tip, was named by the British after a naval officer, William Arthur, though Chinese sources had long called it Lüshun. The modern city dates from 1904, when the site was developed as a planned port, first under Russia, which called it Dalniy, and then under Japan, whose administration called it Dairen. Those decades left a street plan of radiating avenues and circular squares, and buildings in several European and Japanese styles. They also coincided with a large movement of farmers and fishermen from Shandong across the water, which is why local speech and cooking lean towards Shandong. After the foreign occupations ended, the city was renamed and rebuilt as a Chinese port, and it kept much of its colonial-era centre intact.

What to see

Culture

Dalian's culture is Chinese at the root, with a coastal, outward-looking streak. Most families trace their ancestry to farmers and fishermen who crossed from Shandong during the decades of Japanese administration, and the local Mandarin belongs to the Jiaoliao group rather than the Northeastern Mandarin spoken inland. It carries a handful of Japanese and Russian loanwords, which is unusual in Chinese, and locals joke that it sounds 'oyster-flavoured'. Public life happens outdoors. The squares and parks are used for morning exercise, evening dancing, kite-flying and card games, and the seafront fills at weekends. Beer is part of local identity, and the summer beer festival draws large crowds for food, live music and drinking late into the night; check the dates before planning around it. Foreign influence shows in the architecture and in a relaxed attitude towards outsiders, and many younger residents are curious about visitors. English is limited outside tourist sites and larger places to stay, so a translation app and addresses written in Chinese characters help a great deal. Seafood is central to hospitality, with hosts ordering generously and urging guests to try more. The years of foreign occupation remain a sensitive subject, and local museums present them from a firmly Chinese standpoint. When a local host orders for the table, accept at least a taste of each dish, and ask before photographing people exercising or dancing in the squares.

What to wear

Dalian has no distinctive regional costume of its own; the traditional dress here is the wider Han Chinese wardrobe. The qipao (cheongsam), cut from silk or brocade, and the Tang-style jacket appear at weddings, festivals and photo shoots, while cotton-padded jackets and fur-trimmed hats belong to the cold northeastern winter. The Shandong roots of many families show more in food and speech than in clothes. Day to day, people dress casually and practically: trainers, windproof jackets, jeans and sportswear, with a fashionable edge among younger residents in the business districts. In winter, long down coats, hats and scarves are universal. Visitors should plan around the sea climate. In summer, light cotton or linen, a sun hat and sunglasses suit the open squares, but pack a thin windproof layer for breezy evenings on the waterfront. In winter, bring thermal layers, a proper down coat, gloves and shoes with non-slip soles for icy pavements. Comfortable walking shoes matter all year because squares are large and parks are hilly. There is no strict dress code, though shoulders and knees covered is a sensible default at any temple or memorial. Swimwear belongs on the beach and bathing areas only.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. May–June and September–October are the comfortable months, with mild days and sea air. July and August are warm, humid and busy with domestic holidaymakers, and sea fog can hide views. Winter, from December to February, is cold and windy.

How long. 2–3

Getting there. Dalian's airport is linked to the city by a metro line that runs to Zhongshan Square, and an airport bus serves the main railway station. Trains arrive at the main station in the centre. From either, the last leg to most sights is a short metro or taxi ride.

Budget. mid

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources