Young Pioneer Tours is always working with our Korean partners to open up new parts of the DPRK to tourism, and the city of Manpo in Chagang Province is now open to tourists as of April 2019.
What the Manpo?
Manpo is a large city of over 100,000 people, standing on the banks of the Yalu River opposite the Chinese city of Ji’an in Jilin Province. It is located in Chagang Province, which was the only province previously inaccessible to foreign tourists.
Previously the cities of Manpo and Ji’an were linked by a Japanese-occupation-era railway bridge; this was also one of the crossings used by the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army to enter Korea during the Korean War.
Now a new road bridge has been recently constructed and is already open to traffic. At present it is only open to Chinese or DPRK citizens, but we are working on opening this crossing to third-country tourists too.
Opening borders!
Young Pioneer Tours previously worked to open the Tumen-Namyang border crossing which is now fully open to tourists and our border of entry on the All Koreas 2 and Real Deal tours.
Day trips to Manpo?
Once open, Manpo day trips will be available and it will also be possible to cross into Manpo and then take the train down to Pyongyang. There are rumours that it will also allow for easier access to Mt Paektu, which has until now only been accessible by an unreliable, weather-dependent flight from Pyongyang.
Manpo, sometimes spelled Manpho, is the location for the Kosanjin Revolutionary Site, where Kim Il Sung stayed for 40 days in November 1950, as well as the ancient sites of Segom Pavilion and Mangmi Pavilion. Across the river in Ji’an, the Koguryo Ruins are a UNESCO heritage site and a must-see for Korean history enthusiasts.
As soon as foreign tourists are granted permission we will be announcing Manpo tours; email tours@youngpioneertours.com for more information.
Visit Ji’an and get great views into Manpo and other Korean towns and villages on our annual Borderlands road trip from Dandong to Tumen.
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