We just wrapped up our 7-month stay in Dalian, a beautiful port city in northeastern China. Out of all the Chinese cities we’ve visited, Dalian has really captured our hearts and become our absolute favorite!
We rented a lovely serviced apartment, (RMB 5k per month) located in one of the most beautiful areas in Dalian.With the apartment overlooking the sea, we can watch sunset every evening.We loved having so many of our friends come visit us! This is Ann from HK. On this particular snowy day, we took a drive to another part of city to track down some authentic Korean food.Akie’s sister Fumie and her twin boys came to visit next. Taking the boys out to see the seagulls made this our happiest day in Dalian!Our friends Ju and Steve joined us to celebrate Christmas! Together with Fumie and the boys, we enjoyed some Russian food. Since Dalian was a Russian territory between 1898 and 1905, the city still features incredible colonial architecture and cuisine from that period.On the final day of 2025, the harbour outside our apartment turned beautifully whiteCooking seafood for friends who visited us was an absolute must!Our Dalian routine: Akie attended Japanese class and we both practiced piano every single day.Daisy was also seriously studying during her Dalian stay.We were thrilled to be reunited with Niu Niu, whom we met in Yangzhou. She and her friend came to visit, and we took them to the local wet market to buy seafood for dinner.Fresh abalones straight from the wet market. Super delicious!Fresh, raw sea urchin is a true local delicacy. It might not be for everyone, but we love it!Local cherry season arrived next, and we completely indulged ourselves! 🍒 We had no idea before coming here that there were so many different kinds of cherries.Next came the cherry blossoms! 🌸 Dalian is truly wonderful and continuously pampered us with so many beautiful surprises throughout our stay.The cherry blossom season was short, lasting only about 10 days, but it completely captivated everyone, especially us.Some very impressive Russian architecture was left behind from the colonial period. 🏛️ City walks are part of our routine here!One of the most besutiful museum we visited.Low-key but magnificent buildings, completely open for us to explore.A quiet winter day at our favorite park.Dalian was also a Japanese colony from 1905 to 1945. Does this look like Japan to you?Akie was going to Japanese classes four days a week, which was where she met a local friend who had gone to university in Japan. We’ve become friends since, and we enjoyed learning more about Dalian and her experiences in Japan!Befriending the deer was definitely my favorite activity!Stunning view from our apartment.The beautiful neighborhood around our apartment.This is our apartment building. You can understand why we love it.Watching seagulls downstairs is our daily activity.As a port city, Dalian has a lot to offer. I hope you’ll get to visit our favorite Chinese city one day!
