Chinese tourists flock to sightsee near the North Korean border

`This is a place you must definitely visit. We will soon go to North Korea,` tour guide Yu Quanqing told the group.

`Both sides of the river are North Korean territory, you see, so we are like going abroad. You have to use binoculars to see the scenery, there is not much time to waste,` said the tour guide.

The group of guests disembarked after the tour.

While tensions between the US and North Korea increase, thousands of Chinese still flock to see the sights of their neighbor.

`Chinese tourists come here to satisfy their curiosity. They want to see how poor North Korea is,` Mr. Yu said.

He believes that the hotter the political situation gets, the more curious Chinese people become: `Surely they are also worried, but only a little. There is no war. That’s what most Chinese people believe.`

Tourists from all over China flock to the Yalu River wharf every day.

Most visitors here look attentively at the women on the other side of the river doing laundry, the guards strolling on the shore with rifles on their shoulders and the North Korean flag flying as a reminder: from this land under

Chinese visitors are curious about North Korean life

North Korea seen from the Yalu River.

A few days before North Korea tested a nuclear bomb, Jing Xingyi and her boyfriend, Shi Junming, and hundreds of tourists stepped off a ferry down the Yalu River.

When asked if he was worried about this cross-border discovery tour, Shi nodded shyly: `A little. North Korean soldiers might arrest me.`

Wei Jing, a phone company employee, took his whole family on a one-day tour to see North Korea.

Before taking a selfie near a North Korean fisherman rowing a boat nearby, Wei pointed out the contrast between his homeland and the neighboring country: `The difference between China and North Korea is the political system. Each side has its own strengths.`

The delegation observed a guard post of North Korean border guards.

60 minutes ended, Jing and her boyfriend concluded: `They are quite backward. They do not have ideal living conditions.`

Tour guide Yu said that his experiences in North Korea made him believe that China is on the right path: `When we look at these North Koreans, we feel we are in a higher position. I’m sorry.`

A North Korean man was cycling along the other side of the river. Yu joked: `Look, right there. Look at the North Korean private cars. They’re all imported! Made in Japan.`

Pham Huyen