Dalian
History of Dalian
Like Harbin, Dalian is a relatively new city, serving as a major port for Manchuria in the early 20th century. Former names, like Dairen or Dalny remind people of its Russian influences.
Dalian rivals Tianjin as a major northern Chinese port. Thriving shipyards, engineering and oil plants and even more heavy industry lies along its shores, producing glassware, textiles and different forms of industrial chemicals. The city itself is as modern as any Chinese city can get, with a lively nightlife and many foreign investors, business people and ESL school teachers.
Tourist Spots
Port Arthur (not exactly a tourist spot)
Port Arthur, a major Russian base during the 2nd World War was overrun by the Japanese military at the onset of the war. Today, Port Arthur is inaccessible to tourists, as it's a major naval base for the Chinese navy. If you choose to go there anyways, be prepared to spend most of your time talking (or trying to talk) to the local PSB.
Zhongshan Square
Zhongshan Square is actually a circle, surrounded by streets filled with Japanese and Russian architecture. There, you'll find western dance music blasting out of the many shops, some of the more fashionable people (depending on your definition of fashion,) and two of the main shopping streets in Dalian, Shanghai Lu and Tianjin Jie (see below.)
Dalian Sun-Asia Ocean World
Hosting numerous aquariums, the Ocean World lets visitors get a good first-hand glimpse of the variety of ocean life that lies just off the coast of (the non-polluted part of) Dalian.
Shopping
Shanghai Lu & Tianjin Jie
Shanghai Lu and Tianjin Jie are two of the more famous shopping streets in Dalian. On Tianjin Jie resides the English Language Bookstore. Rumor has it (according to Rough Guide) that there's a political section that foreigners apparently aren't allowed to ve much access to.