Dalian Things to Do

Laohutan Scenic Park occupies 295 acres of land and is a large and recreational center in Dalian. The park comprises of the Tiger Park, Bird Sanctuary, Tiger Square, Pole Aquarium and Coral Aquarium.

The Tiger Square is one of the famous sites in the park, covering 15700 square meters, highlighting the largest granite sculpture in China. Six vivid sculpture tigers make the irregular square the most outstanding square in Dalian.

At the southwest of Laohutan Bay lies the bird sanctuary which covers 4,500 sqm with a gigantic bird cage. It is also the natural habitat of thousands of birds. The Park has special performances which are only performed in the summer.

Entrance to the theme park cost RMB40 including entrance to the coral aquarium (shan hu guan). The basic entrance will definitely include the coral aquarium. We paid RMB60 each for the entrance, coral aquarium and bird sanctuary (niao yu lin). It was too cold to go to the bird sanctuary in winter and there’s no public transport available to get there.

Overall comment, it will be more worth it to go to Lao hu tan le yuan in the summer. Most of the attractions such as sightseeing boat trips, water skating performance, etc are closed in winter. The park is almost dead in winter with very very few visitors. Most of the visitors will go to the Pole aquarium only.

It is one of the biggest park in the city center of Dalian. From the labour park, you can see the city landscape such as the one in the picture.

From here, one can take a cable car ride to the TV tower, the highest point in Dalian to get a magnificient view of the city.

Entrance fee to the park is charged and cost RMB10 per person.

This is the financial district of Dalian. It is a big square right in the city center surrounded by many high rise buildings and it is actually a roundabout with at least 4 lanes. I think it is 5 lanes. Quite scary to cross the road there too. To be safe, use the underpass.

On the southern seashore is the 35-kilometer-long Binhai Road, which winds its way like a dancing colored silk cloth from the east to the west of the coast line along the mountainside overlooking the sea.

Binhai Road is a must see place in Dalian. 18 hairpin bends is famous for its steep. The statues on the both sides are also special scene.

The 295 acres Laohutan Scenic Park, lying southeast of the city, with a coastal line of 4.6 kilometers, is a large and recreational center in Dalian. The park comprised the Tiger Park, Singing Birds Woods, Tiger Square and an Aquarium. The Tiger Square is one of the famous sites in the park, covering 15700 square meters, highlighting the largest granite sculpture in China. Six vivid sculpture tigers make the irregular square the most outstanding among dozens of squares in Dalian. To the southwest of Laohutan Bay lies Singing Birds Woods, which covers 4,500 sqm with a gigantic bird cage. It is also the natural habitat of thousands of birds. The Park has special performances like the Peacocks Flying Southeast, which depicts an ancient Chinese tragic love story, the Mermaid Show and the Sea Lion Performance.

The valley, 240 kilometers (near 150 miles) north of Dalian, is located in the mountain near Zhuanghe. The 110 square kilometers (42 square miles) zone is reputed as Mini Guilin of northern Liaoning province, with towering peaks, hidden in clouds, and clean rivers which constitute picturesque scenery. Its beautiful scene reflects shadows of Guilin and Mt. Huangshan, however it is marked with its own features and characteristics. Bingyu Valley has special, ragged rocks and cliffs. There are many caves, in the largest one of which a temple had once been built. The uncontaminated valley reserves itself clean and clear waters, and nice vegetation. Many precious plants and animals thrive in the seldom-interrupted park.

Dalian is a city famous for its squares. The largest and most famous square is Xinghai Square, a must see for those who visits Dalian. The square lies 500 meters north of the seashore of Xinghai Bay and hence named after it. The 45,000 square meters square was completed in 1997 to celebrate the return of Hong Kong to China. The design of the square implies traditional Chinese culture. At the center of the square is a Huabiao (a decorative column symbolizing China), which is 19.97 meters in height and 1.997 meters in diameter, the largest of its kind in China, to commemorate the year 1997 when Hong Kong returned to China. The gigantic star-shaped square has an inner circle and an outer circle which are 199.9 meters and 239.9 in diameters respectively, representing Dalian's 100th anniversary in 1999 and its 500th in 2399. Along the central avenue there are dozens of stele lamps. South end of the central avenue is a group of sculpture which records the
history of the city. A thousand footprints of the Dalian's citizen are inscribed to imply that Dalian is moving forward.

500 meters north of the square lies Dalian Xinghai Exhibition Center, which is the largest project in Dalian and one of the best exhibition center in China.

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Jinshitan (Golden Stone Beach) Scenic Area is a national scenic park, which lies at the south tip of Liaodong Peninsula and borders Yellow Sea, 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the downtown and adjacent to Dalian economic and technological development zone. The park, having a number of natural wonders, covers 62 square kilometers (24 square miles) land space and 58 square kilometers (22 square miles) maritime space.

At the east part of the peninsula, along the 8 kilometers (5 miles) long coast, splendid rocks formations constitute a natural museum of marine-erosion rocks, goes and rauks, which formed from Sinian to Cambrian. Those vivid rock formations are of great scientific value and appreciation value. Visitors may enjoy these natural splendors on sightseeing buses shuttling along the coast. Most of them are free except those having undergone human reconstruction.

Except for the natural splendor of the area, other recreational facilities have been set up. A golf course having 36 standard fairways, some of them considered very challenging, has opened to public. Additional night golf course is under construction. There is also a hunting ground within forest, a turf, a yacht club, a bathing beach, a coastal park and hotels providing services to visitors.