Wedged between the Yellow and Bohai Seas on the southern cusp of the Liaodong Peninsula, Dalian enjoys five-star status as one of China's premiere cities. Known as the "Hong Kong of the North," it is one of China's few "open door cities" that allows foreign investors. As a result, Dalian glows with a cosmopolitan swagger full of vacationer-happy charisma. Trendy dance clubs, ultramodern shopping centers, refurbished four-star hotels and internationally acclaimed restaurants are the norm rather than the exception. And, a surrounding geographic wealth of beaches and mountains, all with just-minutes-from-downtown-accessibility, lend it the kind of outdoor options normally only associated with Hawaii. Over the last 20 years, Dalian's emphasis on amplifying its tourism industry has helped elevate it into "Must Visit" status, ranking it with other such China heavies as Shanghai and Beijing.

As China's lone northern ice-free harbor Dalian has been a perpetual source of foreign government envy. From 1895 to 1955, Russia and Japan alternated as Dalian's landlord four separate times. During this flux, both nations used it as a major shipping port with Europe. Consequently, by the time China finally reclaimed it back into the fold, the city, much like Hong Kong, was infused with Russian, Japanese, and European architectural influences. These former "symbols" of foreign repression are now fully embraced as part of Dalian's worldly charm.

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