Atlas of China
Dalian 大连Dàlián
A port laid out by Russia and Japan, with Lüshun's forts and summer beaches
About Dalian
At the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula, Dalian was built by Russia as Dalny from 1898 and held by Japan from 1905 until 1945, and the banks of that era still ring the round Zhongshan Square. Lüshun, the old Port Arthur, has the Lüshun Museum, the Lüshun Russo-Japanese Prison and the forts of Dongjiguan Mountain, taken in the Russo-Japanese War. Laohutan Ocean Park and the sea-carved rocks of Jinshitan draw summer crowds, and seafood, sea cucumber above all, rules the table.
What to eat in Dalian
- Menzi, fried starch jelly with garlic sauce (焖子)
- Salted fish with corn cakes (咸鱼饼子)
- Tanggu huoshao, hollow sugar flatbread (糖鼓火烧)
Listed sites in Dalian
43 listed sites are in Dalian. These are the 29 rated 5A or 4A; see all 43 in the Liaoning list.
- Dalian Laohutan Ocean Park 老虎滩海洋公园 5A scenic area
Laohutan Ocean Park is a marine-themed park on about 4 km of winding coastline in Dalian, with a core area of 118 hectares. - Jinshitan (Golden Pebble Beach) 金石滩 5A scenic area
Jinshitan is a coastal resort area in Jinzhou district, approved by the State Council as a national tourist resort in 1992. - Anbo Hot Spring Tourist Area 安波旅游景区 4A scenic area · on the map
Anbo is a hot-spring area in the hills of northern Pulandian District, and the listed scenic area spreads across five of the district's subdistricts. - Baiyushan Hill, Lüshun 白玉山 4A scenic area · on the map
Baiyushan is a hill in the old town of Lüshun that looks down on the naval harbour and the town. - Bangchuidao Guesthouse Scenic Area 棒棰岛宾馆景区 4A scenic area · on the map
This coastal scenic area on the eastern stretch of Dalian's Binhai Road takes its name from a small club-shaped islet about 600 m offshore. - Bingyu Valley 冰峪沟 4A scenic area
Bingyu Valley is a mountain gorge in the Xianrendong area of Zhuanghe, known for forested peaks of quartzite, deep side valleys and clear streams and pools, and promoted as the 'Guilin of southern Liaoning'. - Dahei Mountain 大黑山 4A scenic area · National heritage site
A 663-metre mountain and forest park in Jinzhou, with Buddhist and Taoist temples and rock canyons, and azaleas that bloom on the slopes in mid-April. - Dalian Forest Zoo 大连森林动物园 4A scenic area · on the map
Dalian Forest Zoo covers 7.2 square kilometres of Baiyun Hill in the south of the city and opened in 1997, with a free-range area added in 2000. - Dalian Martial Arts Culture Museum 大连武术文化博物馆 4A scenic area · on the map
A museum of Chinese martial arts, with exhibits on the history of the martial arts in China and in Dalian over the past century. - Dalian Modern Museum 大连博物馆 4A scenic area
Dalian's city museum stands beside Xinghai Square and opened in 2002. - Dalian Natural History Museum 大连自然博物馆 4A scenic area · on the map
The museum, on the Heishijiao shore, covers geology, palaeontology, zoology and botany in 12 halls, among them earth sciences, dinosaurs, marine life, north-eastern forest animals, wetlands, biodiversity and western Liaoning fossils. - Dalian Sun Asia Ocean World 圣亚海洋世界 4A scenic area · on the map
This commercial aquarium park in Xinghai Park by Xinghai Bay has four venues: Ocean World with a 118 m underwater tunnel, Polar World with Antarctic penguins and a spotted-seal bay, Coral World, and a zone of sea, land and air animals. - Dongjiguan Mountain 东鸡冠山 4A scenic area
Dongjiguan ('East Cockscomb') Mountain, on the north-eastern edge of Lüshun, was a main battlefield of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05, when Japanese forces took the Russian fort on its north side in December 1904. - Guan Xiangying Memorial Hall 关向应故居纪念馆 4A scenic area · on the map
A memorial museum at the birthplace of Guan Xiangying (1902–46), a Chinese Communist leader who served as a political commissar in the Red Army and the Eighth Route Army. - Haiwang Jiudao (Nine Islands of Haiwang) 海王九岛 4A scenic area · on the map
Haiwang Jiudao is a group of nine islands and dozens of reefs in the Yellow Sea off Wangjia town, Zhuanghe, including Dawangjia, Xiaowangjia and Shoulong Islands. - Hengshan Beipuduo Theme Culture Park 横山北普陀主题文化公园 4A scenic area · on the map
This Buddhist-themed culture park of about 45 hectares in wooded hills was begun in 2003 and rated 4A in 2014. - Jiangjunshi Seaside Resort 将军石旅游景区 4A scenic area · on the map
A leisure resort at Bohai village on the Bohai coast of Wafangdian, centred on a hotel with villas, a hot-spring club and conference rooms. - Lüshun Russo-Japanese Prison 旅顺日俄监狱旧址博物馆 4A scenic area · National heritage site
Built by Russia from 1902 and enlarged by Japan from 1907, this former prison in Lüshun held mainly activists from Manchuria and Korea until 1945, and it opened as a museum in 1971. - Lüshun Submarine Museum 旅顺潜艇博物馆 4A scenic area · on the map
The museum stands on the seafront below Huangjin (Golden) Hill in Lüshun and shows a retired Type 033 submarine alongside more than 60 other retired naval, land and air equipment items. - Minghu Hot Spring and Ski Resort 铭湖国际温泉滑雪度假区 4A scenic area · on the map
A resort of more than 4,000 mu (about 270 hectares) in the hills of Paotai subdistrict, combining a hot-spring hotel, a ski area and a farm-style ranch. - Pingdao Sea Cucumber Town 平岛辽参小镇 4A scenic area · on the map
A tourist island off the Yellow Sea coast of Pulandian District, themed on local sea-cucumber farming, for which the provincial tourism department lists 12 protection zones. - Qicai Nanshan Scenic Area 七彩南山 4A scenic area · on the map
Qicai Nanshan is a rural tourism park of about one square kilometre at Xiaonan village in Lüshun, opened in 2010. - Shiwai Jiantang Hot Spring 世外俭汤 4A scenic area · on the map
A hot-spring scenic area of about 3.8 sq km in wooded hills at Jiantang, in Anbo subdistrict of Pulandian District. - Tianmenshan National Forest Park, Zhuanghe 天门山国家森林公园 4A scenic area · on the map
Tianmenshan National Forest Park lies in the mountains of northern Zhuanghe and borders Gaizhou, Yingkou and Xiuyan. - Xianyuwan Beach Resort 仙浴湾旅游度假区 4A scenic area · on the map
A seaside resort on the west coast of Wafangdian, with about 11 km of shoreline of which 6.4 km is bathing beach, backed by woodland and a forest park. - Xiaoshuikou Forest Park 小水口森林公园 4A scenic area · on the map
A wooded coastal park of about 1.2 sq km at the eastern tip of Xiaochangshan Island in the Changshan Islands. - Xijiao National Forest Park, Dalian 西郊国家森林公园 4A scenic area · on the map
A large forest park of about 70 sq km on the north-western edge of Dalian, with some 85 per cent tree cover. - Yinggeshi Botanical Garden 英歌石植物园 4A scenic area · on the map
This privately run botanical garden of about 100 hectares in the hills of Dalian's high-tech zone was begun in 2003 and opened in April 2014. - Ziyun Huaxi Lavender Estate 紫云花汐薰衣草庄园 4A scenic area · on the map
A flower and herb farm of about 1,100 mu (roughly 73 hectares) in the hills of Xiangying subdistrict, planted mainly with lavender, verbena, sage and roses, plus fruit orchards and plum trees.
Getting to Dalian
Train, flight and driving times from the cities most visitors come from, with stations, fares and how many run a day; each opens the full comparison.
On the map
Open Dalian on the illustrated map to see its outline, its places and listed sites together, and to add them to a trip.
Open Dalian on the map