Signs of Life in North Korea’s Manp’o 满浦

As I was observing the lack of any kind of activity across the Yalu River. I suddenly became aware of another person who was also observing the stark landscape of North Korea from this viewing platform. He was the first one to speak, “North Korea”, pointing at the mountains beyond the river. He did seem to be the friendly type so I decided to engage him in conversation. He began spouting a lot of information about North Korea and said that that place is called Manp’o 满浦. Soon enough, he revealed his true colors, he was a tour guide and was looking for customers, obviously I was a prospective customer, I wonder if my big camera gave it away.

He was offering me a tour of the surrounding countryside, which was part of the UNESCO world heritage list. I actually came to Ji’an City specifically for this purpose and knowing that the heritage site was spread out across the county, I needed transportation to visit all of them efficiently. His offer was CNY 100 for the entire tour. He would also be serving as the tour guide, which I guess wasn’t that bad of a deal considering I have private transportation. I accepted. He suggested that we begin part of the tour by showing me around the Yalu River. Sure, why not?

His car wasn’t very big but good enough to serve his purposes. He brought me along the Yalu River and pointed out the bigger city of Manp’o which is practically a city built around a factory. There were some people on the other side and they were very far away. According to my driver/tour guide, the North Korean soldiers would shoot anyone who tries to run over to the Chinese side. I don’t think any Chinese would be wanting to run over to the North Korean side anytime soon. He said it was a copper mine and that the mountains of this area are rich in these metals. He would go on about so many facts about North Korea, than it made my eyes glaze over. At least I’m getting my money’s worth.

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