Chinese Water Torture and Close Encounters with Kim Jong-il

Last weekend, the CET students and our roommates took a weekend trip to Dandong in Liaoning province. To give you an idea of where Dandong is, on a map of Asia, it's hard to tell whether the city is in China or N Korea. In fact, N Korea is just across the river from Dandong. I got different answers from different people as to where the actual border between the two countries lies. Some said that half of the river belonged to N Korea and half belonged to China; others said China claimed the entire river, and I even heard that as long as you had one foot in the river, even if the rest of your body was on Korean land, you were still in China. I don't think the Korean police follow the last one.

After getting a quick glimpse of N Korea, we got on our tour bus and drove out to Qingshangou where we stayed the night and watched a traditional Manchurian dance performance. It seems like that dance performance was the only reason we drove so far out of the city, which was slightly annoying, but all in all it was fine. That night we roasted a lamb on a spit and some of us sang karaoke; I just watched. The real memorable experience in Qingshangou was taking a shower the next morning. To activate the hot water, you first had to fill up the heater, then turn it on, wait about half an hour, and be sure to remember to unplug it before turning on the water unless you want to get electricuted (of course the sign reminding you of the crucial last step was only in Chinese). After completing these steps, especially the last one, there must have been something wrong with the hot water heater because the water was freezing, and the water pressure was little more than a drip. I now see where the Chinese must have gotten the idea for the water torture.

Sunday we hiked through the mountains of Liaoning on our way back to Dandong, which was really beautiful, especially when we got to the highest lookout point. It was much more rustic than our hike in Yagou, and I think I enjoyed it even more after sitting on the bus for a few hours. Back in Dandong, we checked into our second hotel, which was exponentially nicer than where we stayed in Qingshangou. There was actually a piece of tile dividing the shower from the rest of the bathroom, so the entire floor didn't get soaked when I took a shower. It's kind of sad that I had forgotten how nice that was.

Monday morning we took a boat ride on the Yalu River; yes, I may have technically entered N Korea, but I didn't get a passport stamp. Wherever the official border between China and N Korea stands, there is no question that the north side of the river is China and the south side is N Korea, as China attempts to clearly assert its superiority. Along the Dandong riverbank is a row of skyscrapers with neon lights and a relatively well-kept river walk. The bridge that only goes from the Chinese side to the middle of the river (thanks to US bombs) is equipped with some kind of lasers that light up the sky all night, and there is a large spire in the middle of the city with a green beam that continuously swivels back and forth in the direction of N Korea.

Compared with most cities in China, Dandong is quite small, but at least the riverbank of the city is one of the most developed areas I've seen in China. There is no question that the sole purpose of developing that area is to show off China's power to N Korea, and frankly, I think it's incredibly arrogant. This is just another instance of the Chinese spending money for an outer show and not dealing with the inner problems of their country. I'm sure the utter poverty of the farming villages a few miles inland that we saw from the train could be easily confused with N Korea, but that's supposed to be a secret. The problem China is that when the entire world is focusing on your economy and your country has over a billion people, it's hard to keep much of anything a secret.