Hermit Kingdom Gateway - Launched April 3, 2018 - Full multimedia experience: audio, stills, text and or video: Go to zReportage.com to see more - The Yalu River forms a natural 491 mile border between China and North Korea, and along the heavily policed border the sparse landscapes of North Korea are in stark contrast to China's hyper developing skylines. Increasingly led by China itself, the pressure of the outside world via UN sanctions, US lobbying and regional impatience with North Korea's continued nuclear tests, is being brought powerfully to bear on their focal point of contact, the river port of Dandong. Hidden away in the far northeastern corner of China, 'Red East' as Dadong is known is a city of almost a million, charming and modest in size by Chinese standards, and popular for 'red tourism' as Dadong is known, is a city of almost a million, charming and modest in size by Chinese standards, and popular for 'red tourism' to nostalgic Korean War sites. As the largest border city in China facing N. Korea, Dadong's Sino-Korea Friendship Bridge is the main conduit of trade between the two countries, but last December new UN sanctions quieted the trade business. In January China began ramping up security on the border with new surveillance and security forces, and a banner seen on a border fence in Dandong bore the message: ' Citizens or organizations who see spying activities must immediately report them to national security.' Across the half frozen river from the Chinese provinces of Liaoning and Jilin, sentry posts with North Korean guards loom around the clock, but adventurous tourists can still hire speedboat rides to get a closer view of the 'hermit kingdom', and Korean influence makes it across the border in the clothing, karaoke, and food. As Kim Jong Un meets in Beijing with Xi Jinping ahead of a potential meeting with Donald Trump, the speculation runs wild, and how it plays out is still anyone's guess.
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December 14, 2017 - Dandong, China - Workers sweep snow along the Yalu river waterfront near the North Korea border.
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December 23, 2017 - Dandong, China - North Korean performers sing at a hotel in Dandong, China.
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December 14, 2017 - Dandong, China - Tourists take a selfie with a backdrop of North Korea and the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge on the Yalu River.
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December 27, 2017 - Dandong, China - Two of the few remaining cormorant fisherman on the Yalu River display a carp fish. The 491 mile long river forms a natural border between North Korea and China.
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December 24, 2017 - Dandong, China - Toy tanks at a ski resort near Dandong, China.
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December 23, 2017 - Dandong, China - An empty ferris wheel near a sprawling development outside Dandong, China.
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December 22, 2017 - Linjiang, China - A boat is seen in the frozen Yalu River near Linjiang, China across from a sentry tower in North Korea.
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December 17, 2017 - Dandong, China - A man looks through binoculars for sale at a tourist kiosk in Dandong near the Friendship Bridge, where smoke rises from an unidentified source. The bridge was bombed by the US during the Korean War and rebuilt, but a portion of the ''Broken Bridge'' still stands today as a war monument.
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December 16, 2017 - Dandong, China - Advertisements play on a giant billboard near a modern luxury development on Moon Island near Dandong, China and Sinuiju, North Korea.
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December 15, 2017 - Dandong, China - View from a Chinese hotel window of the Friendship Bridge which crosses the Yalu river between Dandong, China and Sinuiju, North Korea.
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December 16, 2017 - Dandong, China - A woman practices tai chi in freezing temperatures near the Yalu River in Dandong, China, across from coal factories in Sinuiju, North Korea.
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December 14, 2017 - Dandong, China - SOO-JIN from Pyongyang rides a shared taxi in Dandong while transporting several boxes of Soju, a popular Korean alcoholic drink. Children of upper-class North Koreans are allowed to work abroad, and many work in Dandong restaurants as hostesses or singers.
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December 19, 2017 - Ji'an, China - A hotel in the border city of Ji'an broadcasts a speech made by President Trump in December 2017 as a chef prepares breakfast for guests.
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December 19, 2017 - Ji'an, China - Diners at a Korean restaurant in Ji'an, Jilin province, China, near the North Korea border.
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December 27, 2017 - Dandong, China - North Korean workers in traditional Korean dresses at a seafood market in Dandong, China.
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December 18, 2017 - Ji'an, China - A Chinese soldier in the border town of Ji'an, Jilin Province walks along the Yalu waterfront across from North Korean sentry posts.
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December 18, 2017 - Dandong, China - A North Korean soldier cycles on an island in the Yalu River near the Hushan Great Wall.
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December 19, 2017 - Jilin Province,, China - Shoppers pass sitting ducks on display at a street market in Changbai Korean Autonomous County, Jilin Province, China.
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December 14, 2017 - Dandong, China - Traditional Korean dresses for sale near the border in Dandong.
© Elijah Hurwitz/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire
December 26, 2017 - Dandong, China - A father and his child ride a Yalu River tour boat which lets tourists get a closer look at North Korea. Because of current tensions, the boats are keeping further distances from the shore than usual.
© Elijah Hurwitz/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire
December 26, 2017 - Dandong, China - A couple poses for wedding portraits near the Friendship Bridge in Dandong, China.
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December 23, 2017 - Dandong, China - A couple walk past an idealized statue of socialist workers on a foggy evening in Dandong, China.
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December 19, 2017 - Ji'an, China - Steam rises from a coal plant in Ji'an, Jilin Province.
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December 26, 2017 - Dandong, China - People walk along the Yalu River on a misty morning in Dandong, China across from Sinuiju, North Korea.
© Elijah Hurwitz/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire
