Dalian - 2006 & 2010 大连

Dalian 大连



On the east coast of Eurasia and the southern tip of Liaodong peninsular in northeast China, Dalian stretches from 120°58' to 123°31' east longitude and 38°43' to 40°10' north latitude, with the Yellow Sea on the east, Bohai Sea on the west, facing the Shandong peninsular across the sea on the south and backed up by the vast Northeast Plain on the north. Dalian is the marine gateway of northeast China, North China, Please use a map to find out where Dalian is.
The street is very wide, many streets are 4 lanes each side. It is very clean and their citizens are proud of it. It has been on the list of world's top 500 cleanest city. Public transportation is very good, bus, street car, light rapid rail, electric powered bus. Taxi starts from RMB 8. There are many parks, plaza and squares. Shopping malls are in downtown area. There are 5 Wal-Mart in the city. When I walked through the food section of a Wal-Mart, it was like out of this world. There are basic bakery, prepared dished, cooked chicken, pig feet, sea food, meat etc. I believe if I live there, I do not need to cook for myself just drop in to buy food everyday. There are many famous beaches, the water is warm.

1st visit
Date: 2006-09-18 to 22

aerial view

日俄战争遗址

旅顺

辛海广场

Walmart Supercenter - plenty food supply and ready to eat food

Ubderground shopping mall near train station

Train station

Russian Street

City Hall Square

2012-12-25:
Add 2010 October trip together.

2nd visit

Date: October 3, 2010
Diamond Princess
This port has the shortest staying hours: 9 AM to 3 PM. All passengers must return prior to 2:30 PM. Free shuttle bus running from 9 AM till 2 PM.
The weather was rainy, cold and windy. We just visited Zhongshan square and Russian street.
大连市是中国的副省级城市、计划单列市，也是全国14个沿海开放城市之一；是中国辽宁省的一个重要沿海港口城市，省内第二大城市，是中国东北主要对外门户；也是东北亚重要的国际航运中心、国际物流中心、区域性金融中心。
大连位于欧亚大陆东岸，中国东北辽东半岛最南端，西北濒临渤海，东南面向黄海，有包括大小岛屿260个。环境优美，气候宜人，2006年与杭州和成都一起被评为中国最佳旅游城市，2009年大连获得全球“国际花园城市”最高级别组的第一名。大连是夏季达沃斯世界经济论坛的举办城市。 大连位列2009年度大中华区城市（含港澳台）综合竞争力排名第九.
1858年被英国占领，至1880年归还中国。1897年年底，沙俄为争夺清朝领土，将军舰强行开进旅顺口，随之便派人到大连湾和青泥洼勘察，决定在青泥洼开港建市。1899年8月11日，沙皇尼古拉二世发布关于建立自由港“Дальний”（俄文“远方”之意，汉语读音为达里尼）的敕令，将青泥洼易名。但沙皇敕令发布后，中国人仍称青泥洼。
1904年，日本挑起争夺辽东的的日俄战争。1905年，日本战胜沙俄，将青泥洼也改称为古代中国标称大连湾所用的“大连”二字，一则用海域的名字指称港口，二则也兼取近似俄文“达里尼”音之意（日文“大連”，音读为「Dairen」）。当时，日军辽东守备军司令部男爵西宽二郎发布传达命令第三号，内容为“自明治三十八年（1905年）二月十一日起，‘青泥洼’改称‘大连’”。此令的“青泥洼”处，标有日文“ダルニー”（羅馬字：Daruni）字样。“ダルニー”是俄文“Дальний”的音译，日本人更改城名为“大连”，正兼顾了大连的日语发音（Dairen）与日语读法中的俄语「达里尼」（Dalny）较为接近。