China's Largest Border City: A Hidden Foodie Paradise?

For most contemporary Chinese, Dandong is a place name that feels both familiar and unfamiliar.

Familiar, because over the years, the products of this small city in Liaodong have become nationwide sensations: Dandong strawberries dominate China's strawberry market; hardy kiwis are rising as a top-tier fruit; not to mention the plump, sweet, and incredibly fresh yellow clams that are so delicious even when simply boiled in water... In short, many may not have visited Dandong, but its name has long been etched in their minds.

Dandong strawberries, hardy kiwis, purple stone clams, yellow clams.

Figure 1 Photo by Zhu Mengfei.

Unfamiliar, because this city lies on the remote frontier of the country, and many have no idea about its geographical specifics. Moreover, as the primary departure point for visits to North Korea, with Sinuiju—North Korea’s fourth-largest city—just across the river, Dandong carries an air of lingering mystery. Additionally, for years, travelers to this region have often been drawn to the nearby star city of Dalian, leaving Dandong a relatively "niche" destination to this day.

So, what exactly does this frontier city look like? What are its landscapes, climate, and culture like? How does it differ from other northeastern cities? And why is its produce so exceptionally abundant?

Where is Dandong, and why is it important to China? To answer this, we must look beyond the city itself and consider two grand geographical concepts.

The full view of Dandong, with Sinuiju, North Korea, just across the Yalu River.

The first concept is China’s land borders. As is well known, part of this boundary is a natural coastline, while the rest consists of the country’s vast inland frontiers. Among the many cities along this border, two stand out as particularly unique due to their position at the intersection of land and sea: Fangchenggang in Guangxi and Dandong—meaning Dandong is both a coastal city and a land border city.

The second concept is Changbai Mountain, the "sacred mountain" of the Northeast. On one hand, its extensions stretch north and south, forming the eastern barrier of the horseshoe-shaped Northeast. On the other, three rivers—the Songhua, Tumen, and Yalu—flow from Changbai Mountain, with the latter two forming the natural border between China and North Korea. At the southern end of Changbai Mountain’s range, where the Yalu River meets the sea, lies Dandong.

A schematic map of Dandong’s location and terrain.

It is within this geographical framework that Dandong uniquely combines elements of a coastal city, a riverside city, a border city, and a mountain town—features rarely found together. The convergence of rivers and sea, frontier charm, mountain delicacies and seafood, along with a surprisingly warm and humid climate for its latitude, makes Dandong an exceptionally distinctive presence even within the culturally and climatically unified Northeast.

In ancient times, Dandong was a frontier zone where multiple civilizations intersected. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Goguryeo people, known for building fortresses on mountains, constructed "Wu City" on today’s Fenghuang Mountain. This towering mountain fortress still stands as a national heritage site, while Fenghuang City in the valley below long served as the region’s political and cultural center. In modern times, to avoid confusion with Shen Congwen’s hometown in western Hunan, Fenghuang was renamed Fengcheng. Today, Fengcheng remains a tranquil, rustic mountain town with strong northeastern vibes. Many restaurants there feature waist-deep pits outside their doors, where firewood burns under iron pots simmering hearty pork stews—a sight unseen elsewhere in the Northeast.

If Fengcheng represents Dandong’s mountainous side, Donggang (a county-level city under Dandong) embodies its maritime side. Fengcheng residents speak Northeastern Mandarin, while Donggang locals use the Jiaoliao dialect—a legacy of their ancestors, mostly Shandong migrants who crossed the Bohai Sea during the "Chuang Guandong" migration. They still preserve many ancient traditions of Bohai fishermen. Donggang is a true fishing and port city, where biting sea winds, flocks of feeding gulls, sprawling coastal aquaculture farms, and lingering sunsets over islands create a vivid and romantic maritime atmosphere at the end of the coastline.

Following the Yalu River north from Donggang’s estuary, one soon reaches downtown Dandong. This small city, neatly built along the Yalu River, is orderly and clean, easily defying stereotypes of northeastern urban sprawl. The most intriguing part lies along the riverbank, where across the clear, quiet waters lies the mysterious North Korean city of Sinuiju. Walking to the end of the Broken Yalu River Bridge (the first bridge over the Yalu, destroyed by U.S. bombers during the Korean War), you can even see the cabins of the Ferris wheel in Sinuiju’s amusement park. This view, paired with the brightly lit, music-filled North Korean restaurants on Dandong’s side, lends the city an air of legend.

The railway bridge crossing the Yalu River holds great significance in Dandong.

Like all northeastern cities built in modern times, the train station plays a central role in Dandong. A little-known fact: the train ride from here to Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital, is shorter than to Shenyang, Liaoning’s provincial capital. Geographically, Dandong is the critical gateway linking China’s Northeast to the Korean Peninsula. As the site of the first bridge over the Yalu, it is indisputably a key railway hub in Northeast Asia. Even today, 80% of trade goods between China and North Korea pass through Dandong by rail.

Details inside the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge.

National Highway 331, which encircles China’s northern border, also begins at Dandong Station. Within Dandong, this road follows the Yalu River north into the vast mountains of the Northeast, becoming one of the region’s most scenic autumn drives. Along the way, beneath blue skies, past red leaves, river dams, and island peaks, lies Kuandian County—a serene little town nestled in forests, offering yet another distinct landscape.

Thus, traveling in Dandong offers such varied and rich experiences within a single city and day that it surpasses most expectations. So, while Dandong is China’s largest border city, calling it one of the country’s most multifaceted border cities would hardly be an overstatement.

The charm of Dandong certainly extends beyond its rich culture and landscapes. In fact, even across the entire Northeast region, Dandong stands out as a top-tier culinary city. If I were to recommend just one city in the Northeast for food, I wouldn’t hesitate to choose Dandong.

Dandong’s culinary prowess stems from the sea: the city borders the estuary of the Yalu River. The river, flowing all the way from Changbai Mountain, dilutes the salinity of the seawater. Combined with the flat, sediment-rich seabed, cooler temperatures, and excellent water quality, this makes the local waters exceptionally fertile. While it may not be China’s largest seafood producer, it is undoubtedly one of the best places for the most succulent seafood.

The vast wetlands at the Yalu River estuary.

Dandong’s most distinctive seafood is the pride of Northeast China—the yellow clam. These clams are found only in the shallow waters of the Yellow Sea. Locals call the common hard clam "black clam," while the yellow clam, as the name suggests, has a yellowish shell. Despite the similar names, the yellow clam’s meat is plumper, crisper, and bursting with rich juices, far surpassing the texture and freshness of ordinary clams. Whether boiled by market vendors and served in paper cups or grilled on skewers until they burst with juices, they offer an irresistible level of umami.

Thanks to the cold waters, all of Dandong’s seafood tends to be firm and flavorful. For example, the local swimming crab (called "flying crab" by Liaoning locals), though less abundant than those from Zhoushan, are often plumper, sweeter, and larger, making them a favorite among discerning seafood lovers. The same goes for other seafood like mantis shrimp. That’s why in Liaoning, only the most particular seafood connoisseurs make the trip to Dandong just for a meal.

Freshly boiled seafood at a Dandong street stall.

But the bounty of Dandong’s kitchens isn’t limited to the sea—it also includes gifts from the mountains. As a heavily forested region, Kuandian provides Dandong with an abundance of wild delicacies, from farmed forest frogs to various mushrooms. Against this backdrop of diverse ingredients, cultural exchanges have shaped a unique local cuisine: a seamless fusion of Northeastern, Korean, and Bohai Rim home-style dishes. Here, you’ll find Korean-style raw marinated crabs, wok-fried conch with intense heat and aroma, and even Northeastern inventions like conch stewed with eggplant—far exceeding most people’s expectations of a Northeast Chinese city’s culinary scene.

Abundant sunlight, rare humidity for such a cold region, and the unparalleled black soil make Dandong—especially its coastal Donggang City—the most renowned fruit-producing area in the Northeast. The local strawberries, known for their unique varieties, consistent quality, and exceptional sweetness (some even said to carry a milky aroma), have long been a wintertime delight for locals. Now, with modern logistics and e-commerce, people nationwide can enjoy these marvelous berries during harvest season. Dandong strawberries have built a solid reputation, and today, simply adding "Dandong" to any strawberry’s name serves as a strong guarantee of quality.

Dandong strawberries.

With such abundant produce, breathtaking natural scenery, and a rich cultural tapestry, Dandong is undoubtedly a captivating city worth exploring. More importantly, its strategic location in Northeast Asia speaks for itself. If we were to speculate which Chinese city today holds the most immeasurable potential for future generations—even centuries from now—Dandong would surely be the answer.

Dandong locals enjoying seafood around a barbecue grill.

Cover image | Visual China

Unsigned images | Visual China