The bridge on the right across the Yalu River in Dandong, Liaoning province, was damaged in 1950 in the Korean conflict. Its is preserved to remind people of the importance of world peace. [Photo by Liu Haidong/China Daily]

If you are looking for a holiday with an exotic twist, Dandong, a coastal city in Northeast China's Liaoning province, right next to the DPRK border, is a good choice.

Tiny Dandong is the largest border city in China. It is situated at the confluence of the Yalu River and the Yellow Sea in the southeast of the Liaoning peninsula, facing Sinuiju, a town in Democratic People's Republic of Korea, across the Yalu River.

The geographical location and the rich natural resources of Dandong－which has an airport, a railway line, a river port, a seaport and a highway-is mainly responsible for its development as a city characterized by light industry, the silk industry and also products such as ginseng, hawthorn and chestnut.

The quiet riverside city, however, is most famous for the pockmarked Broken Bridge spanning the Yalu River.

The Yalu River has a long tradition of bridges, which started with steel bridges in the last century.