Lvshun (aka Port Arthur) -- Russians, Japanese and Chinese

The history buff in me came to the Liaodong Peninsula to see and learn about the history of Port Arthur, or as the Chinese now call is Lvshun, 旅顺.  This tower dominates the city and can be seen from everywhere.

Why was Port Arthur the site of so many battles from the 1890's to the 1950's?  Because at the end of the Liaodong Peninsula, it was the site of the best harbor in the region, and it never freezes over.

First stop, the memorial to the Lvshun Massacre.

In November 1894, the Lvshun Massacre took place here during the first Sino-Japanese War.  The Japanese, with their modern military after the Meiji Restoration easily defeated the Qing Dynasty forces and then massacred local citizens.

The hypothesized number of victims is 20,000 and the Japanese burned the bodies.  The first Sino-Japanese War ended with the Treaty of Shimonoseki and the Chinese ceding the Liaodong Peninsula to the Japanese and independence for Korea.  However Russia, wanting a warm water port was leased control of Port Arthur.

Hill 203, the highest point in the Port Arthur area.

During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, this was the site of a major battle between the Japanese and the Russians.

Eventually, after thousands of casualties, the Japanese defeated the Russians and built this monument out of old military hardware. 

The tower that overlooks all of modern day Lvshun is now called Baiyushan Tower.  Originally, after the Japanese victory, the Japanese forced the local Chinese to build this "loyalty tower." The Soviets in the 1945 scraped off the words "loyalty tower" and in 1986 it was given its current name.

The entrance into Port Arthur.

In 1931, the Japanese again invaded Manchuria and occupied it through World War II.  With the help of the Soviets after WWII and during the Korean War, this area was finally liberated with the help of the Soviets.  The Chinese have built a monument and maintain a cemetery for the "Soviet martyrs" who helped liberate this area from the Japanese.

These markers without names are for soldiers on boats that drowned without identification.

Next to the Soviet Cemetery is one build for the Chinese soldiers.

Each deceased soldier has his story and history written on the back of the grave stone.

Bridge Under Construction in Dalian

Tomb-sweeping holiday occurs the first weekend in April.  It's a time to pay respects to the deceased.  Onions headed down to see his family so I had a free weekend.  I decided to hop a quick and cheap flight to the tip of the Liaodong Peninsula to visit Dalian, known to have a very nice coastline and beaches!

Nice beaches....for northern China, but also too cold and windy to have quality beachtime!  However, it was nice just to be outside with clean air to breathe.

I started walking along the beach and the coastal road and saw this bridge under construction!  I became fascinated and the rest of the pictures of this post will be of this partially constructed bridge.

Speaking to the taxi driver I had on the way to the airport, he told me that this bridge is about two years into construction.  I wonder how long it actually it has been since conception and through the design process. 

Who says the world no longer has grand castle like architecture!  It's here in China.  The real reason I came to Dalian was to visit the historical city of 旅顺 just south of Dalian.