Things to do in Dalian
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Dalian
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best window with late spring flowers, 15 to 25 C, dry air and the city at its greenest.
Best eating window, clear skies and calm seas, and the fishing season reopens so seafood peaks.
Peak summer and the swimming season from late June to early September, with Beer Festival crowds and prices.
Spring is windy and can be dusty until late April, when cherry blossom arrives in Lushun.
Winter is cold and windy with grey seas, deserted beaches and the cheapest hotels of the year.
What's on
- Dalian International Cherry Blossom Festival mid April to early May
The north's great cherry blossom show at Longwangtang in Lushun, weeks after southern cities finish.
- Acacia Flower Festival late May
City parks fill with blooming acacia, Dalian's signature late spring flower.
- Dalian International Walking Festival May
A mass coastal walk weekend centred on Binhai Road.
- China Dalian International Beer Festival late July to early August
Brewery tents and carnival crowds take over Xinghai Square for the state sanctioned beer festival.
- Dalian International Fashion Festival September
Garment fair season rooted in Dalian's fashion industry, when the city dresses up.
- Dalian International Marathon October
A coastal course marathon run in the city's clearest autumn weather.
Best things to do in Dalian
Xinghai Square
Asia's largest city square on Xinghai Bay, best at sunset when the bridge lights up and the fountain plays.
Binhai Road
A 40 km coastal road with a boardwalk, and the middle walk from Beida Bridge to Yanwo Ridge is Dalian at its best.
Laohutan Ocean Park
Dalian's flagship ocean park with polar animals, a coral hall, dolphin shows and a cable car over Tiger Beach bay.
Dalian Sun Asia Ocean World
A compact aquarium by Xinghai Park with an underwater tunnel, seals and penguins, easier with young children.
Zhongshan Square
The historic heart of Dalian, ten streets radiating from a plaza ringed by grand Russian and Japanese era banks.
Dalian Haichang Oriental Water City
A Venetian style canal district in Donggang that is Dalian's best evening stroll when the facades light up.
Dalian Forest Zoo
A forested hillside zoo above the beach with pandas, tigers and a free range safari zone you ride through.
Russian Style Street
A short street of preserved Russian era buildings anchored by the handsome Dalian Art Museum building.
Where to stay in Dalian
Zhongshan Square / Renmin Road / Donggang
first trip, food and evenings
The historic centre with the best restaurants, three metro lines and the Donggang waterfront for evenings.
Xinghai Square
sea views, couples and families
Quieter and greener, facing Xinghai Bay and the bridge, with the beach and aquariums at the door.
Jinshitan
resort nights, beach and golf
Stay only when Jinshitan itself is the trip, as it is 50 minutes from the city and quiet in winter.
Qingniwaqiao / Xi'an Road
budget and value
The station and mall district with the cheapest good chain hotels and the easiest transport in the city.
Think twice about
- Dalian Railway Station perimeter at night
The scruffiest and pushiest pocket in the centre, with touts and tourist priced seafood. Use main roads only.
- Jinshitan / Development Zone as sole base
Fifty minutes from the city sights and near empty from November to March, so you are marooned out of season.
- Airport / Ganjingzi industrial fringe
Residential and industrial sprawl with nothing to walk to, cheap rooms but dead evenings.
Best restaurants in Dalian
Wanbao Seafood Fang
Dalian's most famous seafood house, with live tanks downstairs and banquet rooms above for a full ceremony.
Tian Tian Yu Gang
A dependable seafood chain with live tanks and fair prices, best for steamed scallops and a whole fish.
Zheng Huang Qi Seafood Barbecue
The seafood barbecue name locals give visitors, for charcoal squid, shell scallops, oysters and cold beer.
Seafood Master
A steamer restaurant on Xinghai Square where seafood juices drip into the porridge cooking below.
Lvda Impression Dalian Seafood Restaurant
A Xinghai restaurant for Dalian dishes like menzi and salted fish with corn cake at local prices.
Guangcai Restaurant
An old brand Dalian kitchen known for braised sea cucumber with scallion and homestyle seafood dishes.
Xijiade Dumplings
The easy first dumpling stop, order sea urchin first, then sanxian and mackerel dumplings.
Shuangshengyuan
A century old snack house that began as a stall selling salted fish with cornmeal cake.
Outdoor things to do in Dalian
Bangchui Island
A guesthouse peninsula at the end of Binhai Road with the clearest water and cleanest beach inside the city.
Fujiazhuang Beach
The larger city beach locals actually swim from, with showers and seafood shacks behind the sand.
Silver Beach
A smaller, quieter beach near Fujiazhuang that photographers favour for sunset over the bay.
Haizhiyun Park
A rugged coastal park of cliff paths and coves at the wild east end of Binhai Road, best at dawn.
Golden Coast
A 5 km sandy bathing beach at Jinshitan with better sand and water than the city beaches.
Binhai National Geopark
Ancient rock formations shaped like animals along an 8 km cliff walk at the southeast end of Jinshitan.
Dalian Discovery Kingdom
Northeast China's best known theme park with two serious coasters, water rides and night fireworks in season.
Russo-Japanese Prison Site
A preserved prison built by Russia and expanded by Japan, the most powerful stop on a Lushun history day.
Best hotels in Dalian
Four Seasons Hotel Dalian
The newest top end hotel in Donggang with harbour views and a breakfast travellers keep writing about.
The Castle Hotel, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Dalian
A castle style luxury hotel on Lotus Mountain above Xinghai Bay, Dalian's most distinctive splurge stay.
Grand Hyatt Dalian
High floor sea view rooms on Xinghai Square looking straight at the bay bridge, strong for families.
Shangri-La Dalian
The walkable Renmin Road five star with big rooms and the centre's restaurants at the door.
InterContinental Dalian
A central high rise five star near Zhongshan Square with a pool and spa at mid band Dalian pricing.
Crowne Plaza Dalian Xinghai
The mid range way to sleep on Xinghai Bay, facing the square with family rooms and a praised breakfast.
Hilton Dalian Golden Pebble Beach Resort
A beach resort inside Jinshitan built for families doing Discovery Kingdom, the geopark and the Golden Coast.
Dalian Hotel
A historic hotel right on Zhongshan Square with simple rooms at a fraction of five star prices nearby.
Is Dalian expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CN¥350 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CN¥700 a person |
| Splurge | CN¥1,600 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Laohutan Ocean Park: a few days ahead
- Dalian Sun Asia Ocean World: a few days ahead
- Dalian Discovery Kingdom: a few days ahead
- Jinshi Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Four Seasons Hotel Dalian: weeks ahead
- The Castle Hotel, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Dalian: weeks ahead
- Grand Hyatt Dalian: weeks ahead
- Hilton Dalian Golden Pebble Beach Resort: weeks ahead
- Book Laohutan and Discovery Kingdom online a day ahead in July and August to skip gate queues.
- Reserve sea view rooms weeks ahead for the Beer Festival, National Day and Summer Davos weeks.
- Reserve Wanbao and banquet rooms for weekend dinners, and go to Longwangtang at opening on blossom weekends.
Is Dalian safe?
- Swim only in netted lifeguarded bathing areas, as currents and August jellyfish are genuine hazards.
- Take the winter wind seriously, January averages around minus 9 to minus 2 C and pavements ice over.
- In Lushun carry your passport for ID checks and never photograph naval vessels, bases or restricted roads.
Dalian travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Confirm if seafood is priced per jin or per item, watch the weighing without the basket, and agree the total first.
- Restaurants by Laohutan, Xinghai Square and Bangchui Island charge a location premium for the same species.
- Russian Street souvenirs are marked for tourists, so haggle, and treat the street as a photo walk not shopping.
- Jinshitan's small package museums are filler, the geopark, beach and Discovery Kingdom are the real value.
Getting around Dalian: public transport and more
- Metro Lines 1, 2 and 5 cover Zhongshan, Xinghai, Laohutan and Donggang, and Line 3 reaches Jinshitan in about 50 minutes.
- Ride heritage Tram 201 for pleasure, and use taxis or DiDi for evenings, as cross town rides are cheap.
- Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before arrival, carry some cash, and keep hotel names in Chinese characters for drivers.
- Zhoushuizi Airport is 20 to 30 minutes from the centre, but check Dalian Station versus Dalian North for trains.
Who Dalian suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Dalian your trip
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