‘Chinese elements’ seen in NK show strong friendly relations

By Xie Rongbin in North Korea Source:Global Times Published: 2019/7/23 18:23:40

○ In North Korea, "Chinese elements" can often be spotted by visitors from China

○ Chinese heroes of the Korean War are well-respected in the country

○ North Korea expects more Chinese tourists to visit in the future

The Sino-Korean Friendship Tower in Pyongyang Photo: Xie Rongbin

In North Korea, visitors from China are often impressed by the many "Chinese elements" that can be found there.

The Global Times recently visited North Korea with a delegation led by the Information Department of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This was the first official Chinese delegation to visit the country since Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a visit to North Korea on June 20 and 21.

The group saw many Chinese elements during the four-day trip. 

Lasting forever

On the second day of the journey, the delegation visited the memorial park for the Chinese People's Volunteer Army in Kaesong.

Kaesong is the closest North Korean city to the Military Demarcation Line between North and South Korea. During the Korean War, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army and the Korean People's Army defended the city with their lives.

The memorial park is located at the foot of the Songak Mountains. Built in March 1955, the park covers an area of 12,000 square meters.

In September 2014, China and North Korea worked together to renovate the park.

At the entrance of the park stands a monument on which it is written: "The heroes who sacrificed their lives to aid North Korea and defend their homeland will last forever."

The memorial park has four levels with 24 tombs, in which lay 15,236 soldiers from the Chinese People's Volunteer Army. Their names are carved on a black marble wall in the park.

The delegation presented flowers to these fallen soldiers and bowed three times in respect. Afterwards they spilled some Chinese baijiu liquor before the tombs as a sign of gratitude. 

One of the caretakers at the park, surnamed Kim, said that North Korea has renovated all the memorial parks for the volunteer army throughout the country.

The memorial park is overseen by the Kaesong People's Committee. The committee formed a work group to help maintain the park and students from the city often take part in the group as volunteers. 

A tomb for Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers in Kaesong, North Korea Photo: Xie Rongbin

On some special days, government officials and local residents come to the park to present flowers and show that the city will never forget the great contributions of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.

Kim noted that in recent years, an increasing number of Chinese citizens have been coming to the memorial park, including Chinese officials, volunteer veterans and their children, as well as many Chinese tourists.

The last stop the delegation visited was the Sino-Korean Friendship Tower in Pyongyang. It is a must-go place for any Chinese visitor to North Korea.

At 7:00 am, the group arrived at the tower, which is surrounded by office buildings and residential communities.

At the top of the tower is a golden star surrounded by laurel wreath. The symbol of victory and glory looked amazing in the morning sunshine. 

On two sides of the tower are large reliefs depicting volunteer soldiers fighting battles as well as the friendship between the people of China and North Korea.

The delegation's North Korean guide said that the 30-meter-tall tower is covered with 1,025 pieces of granite and marble to pay tribute to the date October 25, 1950, the day the Chinese People's Volunteer Army came to North Korea to fight. The construction of the tower started nine years later.

After presenting flowers and paying their respects one after another, the members of the delegation entered the memorial hall.

Three colored murals cover the walls of the hall. One shows the volunteer army crossing the Yalu River, another depicts the army fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with the Korean People's Army and the last covers the construction of homes for the people of North Korea.

In the center of the hall is a list of the names of those volunteer soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the war. The list contains many names familiar to Chinese visitors such as Huang Jiguang, Qiu Shaoyun, Luo Shengjiao and Mao Anying, son of late Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

Chinese gifts

It took three hours to drive from Pyongyang to Mount Myohyang, which is located in the northwest part of the country. The purpose of this stop was to visit the International Friendship Exhibition. 

The grey-green roof tile on the top of the exhibition hall showed off the typical architectural style of North Korea. According to reports, the gate, which is protected by armed guards, weighs several tons.  

Construction on the exhibition hall began in 1974. It officially opened to the public in 1978. With a total overall floorage of more than 50,000 square meters, the exhibition hall has 190 display rooms on six floors. In addition, the indoor illumination and temperature are both automatically controlled.

The security check in the exhibition hall is very strict. Visitors are asked to deposit their bags and mobile phones. Photography is also forbidden in the hall. 

The hall boasts more than 100,000 precious gifts which were given to the late leaders of North Korea Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il by foreign leaders and representatives from 188 countries and regions.

Highlights include an Ilyushin Il-14 aircraft from the Soviet Union, cups from Russian President Vladimir Putin, a heavy bulletproof vehicle given by Joseph Stalin, marble office supplies from former Cuban president Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz and a sofa from former Indonesian president Sukarno. 

There are many gifts from China as well. 

A book containing the names of Chinese volunteer soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the Korean War Photo: Xie Rongbin

Following a North Korean guide, the delegation visited multiple rooms displaying Chinese gifts such as tapestries, vases and embroidery sent by late Chinese leaders including Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping. 

Highlights of this part of the tour included a farewell letter from the Chinese People's Volunteer Army and gifts sent by the family of Zhang Weihua, a Chinese martyr who fought against the Japanese under Kim Il-sung's leadership during World War II. 

Moving on, the delegation visited rooms displaying various wax statues of late North Korean leaders that had been gifted by China. 

Ending the tour, the delegation visited the observation deck where Kim Il-sung wrote the poem "Autumn on Mount Myohyang" on October 15, 1979. Looking out at the mountainside, enshrouded in fog and rain, it was easy to see why the late leader had been so inspired.  

Tourists everywhere

Large numbers of Chinese tourists could be seen everywhere at hot tourist sites in North Korea. At the service area along the expressway, various dialects from different parts of China could be heard. Selling fruits, biscuits and souvenirs, the salespeople could all speak at least a little Chinese. 

 

In the supermarkets for foreigners, Chinese tourists could be seen buying many local specialities even though the salespeople were not promoting their products, like ginseng, liquor, handicrafts, Korean clothing and stamps. At the check-out counters, customers could pay in yuan, US dollars, euros or even a mix of these currencies.  

Crowds of Chinese tourists could be seen exploring the May Day stadium in Pyongyang, a popular site because Chinese tourists are very interested in performances featuring the distinct features of North Korea. 

Summer is the peak tourist season in North Korea. Air China and Air Koryo run seven flights from Beijing to Pyongyang per week. On the flight the delegation took, most of the passengers were Chinese. Sometimes, Air China is forced to change to a larger plane when the number of travelers gets too high.

In 2018, about 200,000 Chinese tourists visited North Korea, accounting for more than 90 percent of the total foreign tourists traveling to the country. The large number of Chinese tourists have even lead to entire hotels being unable to be booked by other foreign travelers. Due to limitations when it comes to accommodations, North Korea has set a limit on the number of Chinese tourists. 

Two details showed how friendly the people of North Korea are to Chinese tourists. During the trip, members of the delegation went to the revolving restaurant at Koryo Hotel for a cup of coffee at 10 pm. However, due to the late time the restaurant was not revolving. 

However, noticing that the delegation was from China, the waitress set the restaurant to revolve quietly so the visitors could enjoy the night view. 

Another example was the performance of North Korean trainwomen. While waiting in the international waiting room for the train back to Dandong, a city bordering North Korea in Northeast China's Liaoning Province, a group of seven North Korean trainwomen sang several Korean songs to the Chinese passengers, who applauded and praised their performance. 

During the journey back to Dandong, a Chinese tour guide said that China-North Korea relations have improved over the past year, which in turn has enticed more Chinese tourists to want to explore North Korea. 

In Dandong, hundreds of Chinese tourists cross the bridge over the Yalu River by train or bus every day to enter North Korea. 

According to the delegation's tour guide, he took four tours across the border over the past month. 

It usually costs about 3,000 yuan ($436) for a Chinese tourist to go on a four-day package tour in North Korea. 

The itinerary usually involves taking a train from Dandong to Pyongyang, then visiting the Kim Il-sung Square, The Arch of Triumph (Pyongyang) and The Chollima Statue. Tours then either swing southward to Panmunjom or northward to Mount Myohyang.

On the train, an elderly man from Northwest China's Gansu Province who had just finished his four-day trip to North Korea told the Global Times that the country is a very attractive destination for people of his age. He noted that he wants to visit every corner of the country if the opportunity arrives in the future.


Newspaper headline: Traces of China


Posted in: DIPLOMACY,IN-DEPTH

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