Dalian

When to go

Climate	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Daily highs °C	0	1	7	15	20	24	27	27	24	18	10	3
Nightly lows °C	−7	−5	0	7	12	17	21	22	17	11	3	−4
Precipitation mm	0.9	0.6	1.2	2.5	4.7	8.3	14.0	15.4	6.5	2.9	2.0	1.1
Daylight hrs/day	6.4	7.1	7.7	8.6	9.0	8.5	7.1	7.8	8.4	7.6	6.1	5.9
Note that the seasons here tend to be delayed by one month

The city is best visited in the spring, when Dalian begins to shed its drab winter coat and cherries begin to appear on the trees, waiting to be plucked. Autumn is also very enjoyable, mainly because the temps are a tad cooler but the humidity is far less evident. During the summer school holidays early Jul-late Aug the city attracts large numbers of domestic tourists, making long distance transport tickets and hotel rooms harder to find and some sights more expensive. Labour Day one week around 1 May and National Day one week around 1 Oct holidays see similar, though smaller, influxes and so it may be preferable to schedule visits outside these times. Although the cherries are long gone and wintery gusts have settled in, the Chinese New Year lasting weeks, beginning in Jan or Feb depending on the lunar calendar may be an enjoyable time to visit the city if crowds are not your thing, as Dalian's short history prevents many from calling the city their hometown, and therefore the city has a quiet feel during these winter weeks.

Understand

Dalian, as a city, is young by Chinese standards, dating from 1898, though smaller settlements had long existed in the area. Like Hong Kong, Shanghai and Qingdao, Dalian's development stemmed from colonial occupation, in this case by Russia. Under Russian rule Dalian, or Dalny as it was known, became the southern tip of the Trans-Siberian Railway and the main port of the eastern Russian empire. Following the Russian defeat in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-5, the city was transferred to Japanese control and renamed Dairen. The Chinese government resumed control following the Second World War though the city was jointly run with Russia until 1955 and in 1950 was again renamed by the newly formed Communist regime, this time to Luda City. There followed a period of relative stagnation until the city once again named Dalian was opened up to foreign investment in 1984. This sparked the first period of redevelopment of the city, the second period coming with the appointment of Bo Xilai as mayor. Under Bo's stewardship, the city became a model example of redevelopment, with extensive redevelopment of its infrastructure and open spaces and a new focus on tourism and commerce and away from heavy industry.

Dalian is less reliant on heavy industry than its Northeast counterparts, and what heavy industry there is is mostly located in the development zone far outside the city center. This, combined with the city's many parks and green hills, wide thoroughfares and army of street cleaners, make Dalian a more pleasant city to visit and live in than most Chinese cities of comparable size. Though most of the tourist industry in the city is targeted at the domestic, rather than the international market, overseas tourists should still find enjoyment in the city. The large number of foreign businesses in the city and foreign students and teachers at the city's many universities ensure that there are plenty of companies from upmarket hotels to bars and coffee houses which cater to those who do not call China their native home. The city has a population of around 6,000,000. Dalian's perhaps most abuzz when it hosts the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the Champions summer Davos.

Talk

Mandarin is the main language of Dalian, and most Dalianese speak a fairly standard version of the dialect, though the local variety known as Dalian-hua and related to the Shandong dialect can sometimes be hard to follow for those unfamiliar with it. As in the rest of China, English is increasingly spoken, but still not understood by most Dalianese. Outside of the more expensive hotels and businesses that cater to overseas customers, a grasp of basic Mandarin phrases at least is advisable.