The Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, or China–North Korea Friendship Bridge, is a bridge across the Yalu or Amnok River on the

China–North Korea border The China–North Korea border is an Border, international border separating China and North Korea, extending from Korea Bay in the west to a China–North Korea–Russia tripoint, tripoint with Russia in the east. The total length of the borde ...

. It connects the cities of

Dandong Dandong ( zh, s=丹东 , t=丹東 , p=Dāndōng; lit. "Red East"), formerly known as Andong, is a coastal prefecture-level city in southeastern Liaoning province, in the northeastern region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Sinuiju Sinŭiju (; ) is a city in North Korea which faces Dandong, Liaoning, China, across the international border of the Yalu River. It is the capital of North Pyongan Province, North P'yŏngan province. Part of the city is included in the Sinuiju Spe ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, by railway and roadway but pedestrians are not allowed to cross between either side. The bridge serves as one of the few ways to enter or leave North Korea. It was renamed to its current name from the Yalu (Amnok) River Bridge in 1990. The bridge was constructed by the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

(IJA) between April 1937 and May 1943 during its occupation of Korea and its puppet state of

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

(now

northeast China Northeast China () is a geographical region of China, consisting officially of three provinces Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The heartland of the region is the Northeast China Plain, the largest plain in China with an area of over . The regi ...

). Further downstream, construction work on the

New Yalu River Bridge The New Yalu River Bridge ( zh, 新鸭绿江大桥), or Korea-China Amnok River Bridge (), is a road bridge across the Amnok River, Yalu River between Dandong, Liaoning Province, China, and Sinuiju, North Korea. The cable-stayed bridge, which i ...

began in October 2010.

Background and history

Approximately downstream of this bridge are the remains of an older bridge, now known as the

Yalu River Broken Bridge The Yalu River Broken Bridge () is a truncated railway swing bridge converted to a viewing platform and historical site. Constructed in 1911 by the Empire of Japan, it was the first bridge built across the Yalu River and connected the Chinese cit ...

, which was opened to traffic between China and Korea in October 1911. This was later supplemented with the more modern bridge, which became operational in 1943. Both bridges were attacked and bombed by American military aircraft throughout most of the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. From November 1950 to February 1951, the United States Air Force (USAF) used

B-29 The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a retired American four-engined Propeller (aeronautics), propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to ...

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually Aerial bomb, bombs) and longest range (aeronautics), range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy ...

s and F-80

fighter-bomber A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...

s to repeatedly attack and destroy the bridges in an attempt to cut off the flow of Chinese military and troop supplies to the badly weakened North Korean armed forces as well as their own forces fighting alongside them there. Despite the serious difficulties present, the bridges were repeatedly repaired (largely by China). The older bridge from 1911 was left in ruins following its destruction at the hands of the USAF (with North Korea allegedly claiming it would serve as a piece of hard evidence of the US military's destruction of the bridge) and only the newer bridge from 1943 was repaired once again and put back into use at the end of the war in 1953. The aging structure has had to be closed several times to undergo maintenance, limiting trade between the countries. In 2015 and in 2017, the bridge was closed for structural repairs. Operations on the bridge are monitored by outside observers speculating about the nature of China and North Korea's trade and diplomatic relationship. As of 2020, it was estimated the bridge carried more than 70% of trade related traffic between China and North Korea.

Tourism

Driving on Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge

The Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge and the Broken Bridge are flanked on the Chinese side by parks and promenades which make up the Yalu (Amnok) River Scenic Area. This is a major tourist attraction in China and is rated AAAA on

China's national tourist scale Tourism in China is a growing industry that is becoming a significant part of the Chinese economy. The rate of tourism has expanded over the last few decades since the beginning of reform and opening-up. The emergence of a newly rich middle cl ...

. Tourist boats leave from the side of the bridge, allowing visitors to view both bridges and the Dandong riverfront, and pass close to the North Korean waterfront.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge International bridges in North Korea Bridges in North Korea Bridges in Liaoning Road-rail bridges China–North Korea border crossings Bridges completed in 1943 Buildings and structures in Dandong AAAA-rated tourist attractions Bridges over the Yalu River Bridges in Korea under Japanese rule International bridges in China 1943 establishments in China 1943 establishments in Korea

Background and history

Tourism

See also

References

External links