国际英语资讯:Feature: DPRK tourism thriving among Chinese thanks to historical links_时事

国际英语资讯:Feature: DPRK tourism thriving among Chinese thanks to historical links

The special bond between China and the DPRK is not just personal to Li.

Zhang Runfu runs a travel agency in Dandong, China's northern Liaoning Province. Of the roughly 200 thousand annual Chinese visitors to the DPRK, his agency sends over 3,000 of them.

He said the tourists -- most of them elderly -- go to DPRK not only to sightsee, and they also want to have a close look at where their parents' generation had fought.

Zhang said travel to the neighboring country has been thriving, especially since Kim Jong Un, top leader of the DPRK visited China in March 2018. Still, tourism to the DPRK was hit hard by UN sanctions despite no mention of international travel to the country.

The top places to go for foreign visitors include Kim Il Sung Square in downtown Pyongyang, the Tower of the Juche Idea, and the Mansu Hill Statues.

Most Chinese visitors said they are satisfied with DPRK's tourism offerings including hotel, guides, transport, and cuisine.

"My impression with DPRK is that it is clean and neat," said Wang from China's northern Jilin Province, who chose not to disclose his full name.

"We want to see more Chinese young men and women exchanging with their DPRK counterparts in culture and sports," said Zhang the travel agent, "visiting the places where the volunteer army battled, and to learn and feel for themselves the virtues of dedication and perseverance."