Dalian

Do

thumb|200px|A stretch of Binhai Road

Relax on one of the city's beaches – There are a number of beaches clustered along the southern and eastern sides of the Dalian Peninsula, the largest of which are Xinghai Beach (星海海滨 Xīnghǎi Hǎibīn), Fujiazhuang Beach (傅家庄海滨 Fùjiāzhuāng Hǎibīn) and Bangchuidao Beach. (棒棰岛海滨 Bàngchuídǎo Hǎibīn). Of these beaches Xinghai Beach is almost invariably overcrowded and Bangchuidao beach is hard to get to and expensive (it is in an exclusive luxury resort) making Fujiazhuang Beach the best bet for anyone wanting to take a dip or simply sunbathe. Travel along Binhai Road – Running along the southern edge of the Dalian peninsula Binhai Road is a pretty, winding coastal road similar to the corniche of the French Riviera. The road is split into three main sections, Binhai West Road {滨海西路 Bīnhǎi Xī Lù} from Xinghai Square to Fujiazhuang, Binhai Middle Road {滨海中路 Bīnhǎi Zhōng Lù} from Fujiazhuang to Tiger Beach, and Binhai South Road {滨海南路 Bīnhǎi Nán Lù} and Binhai North Road {滨海北路 Bīnhǎi Běi Lù} from Tiger Beach to Donghai Beach. It's possible to walk along the entire 35 km (22 mi) stretch in a day, but for those feeling less adventurous the Fujiazuang-Tiger Beach and Tiger Beach-Donghai Beach stretches also make for a rewarding walk. A taxi journey is a less taxing means of seeing the road. Entertainment – Dalian offers a range of entertainment options, with theatres and concert halls in Zhongshan District for those interested in high cultu…

Buy

Cash is not king: the preferred way to pay for most items, from street vendors to corporate chains is via the WeChat or Alipay apps. Visitors should download and add their foreign cards to at least one of the previously mentioned apps before arriving. Chinese yuan (or renminbi) can be exchanged for at the airport, most 3-star and up hotels, and pretty much any bank. There may be restrictions to foreigners exchanging currency at some banks without the ID of a Chinese national, or limited amounts may only be permitted. Informal exchange personnel often spend time in the lobbies of large banks, with a black purse under arm, and typically offer a better exchange rate than the bank itself. Keep in mind these are not members working for the bank, and while there is a security guards in all lobbies of banks, so if you ever feel you're not getting a square deal, you may begin to bargain with others or attempt to exchange directly with the bank itself. While Unionpay is accepted at several establishments, those hailing from outside of China won't find the brand too helpful. Major credit cards are accepted few places other than 4- and 5-star hotels.

There are many souvenir stalls around the main tourist sights in Dalian. The typical local souvenirs are Russian-themed items (remnants of a bygone era when Moscow laid claim to Dalian and much of Northeast China) and dried seafood, neither of which are of particular interest to foreign travellers (the first would be a strange thing to bri…

Eat

The local cuisine of Dalian is influenced by Dongbei regional style of cooking (which has a not wholly unjustified reputation for being big on portions and relatively low on flavour) and the city's proximity to the sea. Buns, pancakes and dumplings are staples rather than rice or noodles. The city also has a very good reputation for seafood dishes which are well worth trying. Overseas travellers should be aware, however, that in China seafood has different connotations than elsewhere, literally seafood refers to anything edible from the sea. Fish dishes invariably contain plenty of small bones that must be navigated around or crunched through (the local method). Additionally, due to its relation and storied history with Korean and Japanese empires, Dalian has many restaurants serving this kind of fare.

The range and number of restaurants is huge, and the listings provided should be considered as merely scratching the surface of what is available. Individual exploration of the restaurants is recommended. Reservations are generally not necessary, so phone numbers have only been provided for those restaurants where tables may need reserving. Those wanting to stick to the familiar will find a large number of western and Japanese and Korean restaurants available, and international fast food chains are well represented.

For good eats, try the recommendations in Zhongshan District and in Xigang District.

Travelers on a budget will be spoiled for choice in Dalian, with low cost re…

Drink

Dalian offers a wide variety of bars and nightclubs catering to a mixture of locals, foreign business people and the teaching crowd. The city lacks a bona fide bar street such as Beijing's Sanlitun or Shanghai's Maoming Lu with bars fairly liberally scattered across the city centre as well as near large universities. There are three main clusters of bars that those wishing to bar hop could concentrate on, however, the first and most centralized along a side street off Wuwu Lu near Sanba Square, the second along Changjiang Lu north of the Shangri-la Hotel and the third along Gaoerji Lu south of People's Square. KTV, or karaoke, is a large part of Chinese culture. There are a variety of such, some catering more to family or group get togethers and some for business outings. Typically the former are based in larger buildings and have little shops inside where drinks and snacks can be purchased, while the latter tend have a row of standing waitresses or mistresses lined up at the front door or shortly upon entering the singing room.

Another good place to go for drinks for those on the cheap are the night markets that spring up during the summer. These offer very cheap draught beer (¥1-3 for a large glass) and barbecued meat, tofu, vegetables and bread in an informal outdoor setting; some may not even have chairs. This isn't recommended for those who are staying in Dalian a short time or those whom haven't spent a few weeks in China getting their immune system ready unless you're…

Sleep

Budget accommodation options in Dalian, as in the rest of China, are fairly limited for overseas travelers as most of the really inexpensive hotels do not accept foreigners. The best bet for non-Chinese visitors looking for a bargain are youth hostels or university guest houses. Some universities offer foreign student dormitories to travelers during school holidays. Some (for example Liaoning Normal and DUT) also have hotels on campus which offer rooms year-round. (See the Learn section for contact details). Mid-range 3- or 4-star Chinese-run hotels typically offer clean, decent sized rooms, good quality restaurants and but English-staff is spotty. There's an abundance of such hotels around the city, with a handful standing out from the rest of the pack. There's a great variety of choices, mostly Chinese run like Homeinn, Jinjiang inn, Hanting, 7days, Greenhotel and some international operated (usually higher prices but better conditions) like Super8 and Holiday inn express (which is rare in China, the price is also a little bit higher but a good choice). Splurge hotels are dominated by larger international chains, nearly all downtown. These hotels tend to be very well run and offer all the amenities that could be expected. Expect to pay international rates, rather than national, for these 4- or 5-star locations.

Most room prices in China are the room prices of a day. Use Chinese platforms like Baidu or Ctrip for more information and lower prices for accommodation. Or you ca…

Connect

The area code for Dalian landlines is 0411 (the area code is not needed if dialing locally and you have to dial)+86-411 from abroad with the area code of China. Almost all hotels have at least a perfunctory business centre offering Internet access, although usually at a higher price than at an Internet café but most of the splurge hotels offer it for free.

For international calls the best places to go are the phone bars (often labelled 电话吧 (diànhuà ba)), generally found around residential areas. To make a call simply walk in, choose a vacant phone and when finished indicate which phone you used to the cashier: typically the phones have a number written above them. Prices can be highly variable, but a reasonably long call shouldn't come to more than ¥50. (This is not an easy choice as phone bars are becoming less and less popular in China.) A more expensive, and possibly more convenient, option is to ask to use the phone in hotel lobbies.

Mobile phones, and mobile phone stores, are plentiful in Dalian. If you have an international roaming plan then you should be able to use your phone to call within Dalian, though this can be very expensive. For those staying for longer than a week or two it may be cheaper to buy a local SIM card, and expect to pay around ¥50-100. The three main operators, China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom, operate on different standards. Select one of the three operators based on what type of phone you have. China Mobile and China Unicom are GSM,…

Stay safe

Crime, particularly street crime, is low in Dalian as it is in most of China. That said, the people in northeastern China are on average more aggressive than their southern counterparts and fights do happen. (Most often when alcohol is involved.) While foreigners are unlikely to be targeted, one would be wise to avoid any heated exchanges. Additionally pickpockets do operate, so care should be taken with valuables especially in busy shopping areas or on crowded buses or trains.

Be careful with traffic in Dalian. Nowadays, most people in Dalian know basic traffic rules, and some drivers may wait for you in front of a crossing. However, crossing the roads can be dangerous as not many drivers will let you go before them. You had better wait at all traffic lights, but when there are no lights, do as the locals do. Buttons at the crossings are usually not connected to wires so don't even expect to change the lights by pushing them and just wait.

Health-wise Dalian's relatively low levels of pollution mean health problems from bad air are less of an issue than in other Chinese cities. The water, while drinkable, is made so via the addition of hefty amounts of chemicals, and pipes are seldom kept in the best condition so boiling is pretty much mandatory. Bottled water is usually a safer bet—locals either boil tap water or buy filtered water. Tap water should be fine for brushing teeth and washing with, however. With inspections and strict rules on food safety, most restaurants sho…

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