Friday 2^nd October

Morning

• Meet your YPT guide inside the Dantie Railway Hotel lobby at 8:00am, the hotel is located next to Dandong Railway Station – Chairman Mao’s statue is pointing directly at the hotel.
• Drive north to the most eastern part of the Great Wall of China at Tiger Mountain – This is famous for the ‘one meter hop’ as it is the narrowest point between China and North Korea.
• Head back into Dandong city and visit the Memorial of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea – with over 150 military hardware displayed such as Soviet tanks, jets, bombers and a Chinese steam locomotive. The memorial hall holds over 20.000 relics left over from the Korean War and gives a comprehensive view of the events that unfolded during the Korean War.

Afternoon

• Lunch at an authentic Pyongyang restaurant – All the staff at the restaurant are North Korean, and they provide the traditional Korean hospitality with songs and dancing, giving you a taste of what’s to come inside North Korea itself!
• Jump aboard a boat and travel down the Yalu River, the river that separates China and the DPRK. This will give you fantastic photo opportunities to take of North Korea and the destroyed original Friendship Bridge that was built by the Japanese and then destroyed by the Americans during the Korean War.
• After disembarking from the boat, now is your chance to walk along the destroyed Friendship Bridge and see the Chinese propaganda.
• Short drive to see the new Yalu River Bridge connecting China and North Korea, intended as a replacement for the Sino–Korean Friendship Bridge. Construction began in October 2011 and is mostly complete and connected but the project is stalled; North Korea has not built any roads connecting to its end of the bridge.
• Stroll around the river front before heading to check out the views into North Korea, as well as some Korean souvenirs
• For dinner, we’ll dig into Dandong’s famous BBQ dishes.
• Drinks at a nearby bar most famous it’s imported beers.
• Overnight at Dandong Dantie Hotel.

Saturday 3^rd October

Morning

• After an early breakfast, our road trip begins as you travel down the Yalu River to Ji’an city for a look of Manpo city – a city of 110,000 with great picture opportunities!
• During our drive, we will have a chance to pull over and check out any interesting things that pop up along the way.
• Arrival in Ji’an city and lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon

• Ji’an city used to be the capital of the Koguryo Dynasty, one of the first dynasties to rule over Korea. We’ll take a stroll around the city, hunting ruins of the past and walking around the main city square.
• Visit the Ji’an Koguryo Dynasty Artifacts Museum.
• We take a night to explore, hitting some great BBQ and having a few beers in an imported beers shop before checking out the riverfront.
• Overnight in hotel.

Sunday 4^th October

Morning

• After breakfast, we’ll visit the next major/secret border crossing into DPRK located in Ji’an.
• Everyone has heard of China’s great wall, but today we visit the Korean Wall, which marked the border between historic Korea and China.
• We take a morning visit to the UNESCO site that is the capital city and holds the tombs of the ancient Koguryo Kingdom – a must-see for people interested in Korean history and culture! The site contains the archaeological remains of three cities and forty identified tombs of Koguryo imperial and noble families.
• Head out of Ji’an City to begin our drive to the town of Linjiang.

Afternoon

• Arrive in Linjiang and have lunch – this city looks scarily like Las Vegas from a distance but is nothing like Vegas on arrival.
• Visit the statue of Chen Yun, one of the founders of People’s China, as well as visiting his former residence. He was one of the very few Chinese politicians to avoid being purged despite finding Chairman Mao slightly too left and Deng Xiao Ping slightly too right. Chen Yun sadly passed away of old age in 1995.
• Continue driving towards Changbai with a few stops along the way for some views of the incredible scenery.
• Take our bus to the Changbai–Hyesan International Bridge which serves as one of the major border posts between the DPRK and China and offers excellent overlooking views of Hyesan City in the DPRK.
• Arrive in Changbai Village and check into the hotel – this is Changbai Korean autonomous county, which is the only Korean autonomous zone in China outside Yanbian.
• Dinner and overnight in a strangely Renaissance-themed hotel that overlooks straight out on Korea!

Monday 5^th October

Morning

• Wake up early and Drive to Baihe which is the entrance to Mount Changbai National Park. This is the Chinese side of Mount Paektu – the most sacred mountain in the DPRK.
• We’ll have a full day of adventurous hiking up Mount Changbai to see the very famous and magnificent Heaven Lake – this is the iconic volcanic lake seen in very many paintings from the DPRK with the leaders. We recommend bringing suitable hiking boots!
• Lunch at the summit of the mountain.

Afternoon

• Make our way back down the mountain.
• Jump on a shuttle bus and explore more beautiful scenery such as Changbai waterfall, lakes, hot springs (with optional hot spring-cooked boiled eggs!), and the mystical dense forest that surrounds the valleys below the mountain.
• Board the bus again and head back to Baihe,
• Head out for dinner for your choice of unique Chinese local dishes or Baihe’s only pizza restaurant for those craving a taste of home.
• Overnight at hotel.

Tuesday 6^th October

Morning

• Breakfast and drive to Antu County, apart of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, explore the town and lunch before boarding a fast train to Changchun, the capital of Jilin province
• Arrive in Changchun at 4:50pm – Changchun is well connected with other parts of China with flights and trains
• Tour concludes – if you need assistance with ongoing travel please contact us

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