China Golden Week Tour
North Korea
China Golden Week Tour - If you are travelling around China during this time of
the year or if you are based in China and would like to have a break during the notoriously busy Chinese Golden Week, this is the perfect chance to hop on a trip to the DPRK. The application deadline for this trip is September
1st.
If you apply after the application deadline we will be able to
notify you within 24 hours if your transportation means can be booked
on time.
This trip will also allow you escape a busy week in China. If you
may need us to arrange any trips or accommodation in China please do
let us know
as we offer trips all over the Middle Kingdom.
It is possible for non-US travellers to enter by train. Please contact us if interested in this option.
Day 1 - September 29 (Saturday)
- Depart from Beijing at 13.05 flight JS 152 Terminal 2, Beijing
Capital Airport
- Arrive in Pyongyang at 15.35 (Pyongyang time)
PM
- Fountain Park
- couples tend to come here to take newly wed pictures.
- Mansudae Grand Monuments - giant bronze statues of the Leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il
- Arch of Triumph
- gigantic marble structure that marks the arrival of the Eternal
President back to Korea after fighting for the anti-Japanese struggle
- Brief
walk around the area, see the enormous mural of President Kim Il Sung's
speech upon arriving in Korea after the liberation from Japan
- Hotel check-in: Yanggakdo Hotel
- Welcome Dinner: KITC Restaurant,
Pyongyang
Overnight: Yanggakdo Hotel, Pyongyang
Day 2 - October 30 (Sunday)
AM
- Breakfast: Yanggakdo Hotel
- Kumsusan Palace of the Sun
- Mausoleum of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. The most sacred place in
the DPRK, you are kindly asked to wear formal clothing. We will fully
brief you regarding your travel to North Korea
- Revolutionary
Martyrs' Cemetery - dedicated to National Heroes of the DPRK. It has views of the whole skyline of Pyongyang
PM
- Lunch: Local restaurtant, Pyongyang
- Grand People's Study House - see the biggest study institution in the DPRK with great views of Kim Il Sung Square
- Kim Il Sung Square- this is the square we usually see on TV when parades and mass rallies are held in Pyongyang
- Moran Park -
tends to be busy with locals on Sundays and holidays. Do not be
surprised if you are asked to join in any dances that may be taking
place!
- Juche Tower-
wchance to go up 150 metres and have a panoramic view of Pyongyang or
to relax by the Taedong River if you would rather not go up the tower
- Pyongyang Metro (extended ride) - the deepest in the world. Ride with locals for several stops
- Party Foundation Monuments - consisting of a 50 metre tall hammer, sickle and brush
- Evening Departure to Kaesong
- We will have a break on this 2.5 hour drive. As we drive on the empty
Reunification Highway, our guides will give us a detailed explanation
of the DPRK’s Reunification principles. It will become dark as we
approach Kaesong. Riding across the pitch-black highway as we chat with
our Korean guides is an interesting and a little surreal experience.
When we arrive Kaesong we will be able to see the giant lit up bronze
statue of President Kim Il Sung at a distance overlooking the whole
city, once capital of the Koryo Dynasty
- Check-in: Minsok Hotel -
The folk hotel is a traditional courtyard hotel located in the old part
of Kaesong. Given that there is a clear night, which should be the case
this time of year, walking around the premises at night allow you to
see countless stars which is a stark contrast to the skies from Seoul
only just 70 KM south (you can see the difference from Kaesong as you
look south). The statue of President Kim Il Sung can also be seen from
the courtyard hotel.
- Dinner: Minsok Hotel - If you would like to try some dog meat soup this is optional (€5) as is the ginseng stuffed chicken
(€30, one chicken serves two people). Please let us know beforehand if
interested in the chicken a few hours before our arrival to Kaesong as
it will have to be prepared beforehand. Please note that these dishes
are optional and that regardless on whether you order them or not, many
other dishes will be served.
Overnight: Minsok Folk Hotel, Kaesong
Day 3 - October 1 (Monday)
AM
- Breakfast: Minsok Hotel, Kaesong
- Tomb of King Kongmin
and his Mongolian wife. We will see tombs of generals on the way there
too. These tombs have undergone very little restoration and therefore
remain close to their original state.
- 38th
Parallel (DMZ) -
chance to enter the famous blue negotiation rooms where talks between
North & South Korea have taken place. We will tour Panmunjom,
always escorted by KPA soldiers as is mandatory. We will see where the
Korean War Armistice was signed. The KPA soldiers tend to be keen on
seeing what travellers views on the Korean War and the Korean peninsula
are and a visit here presents us with a unique chance to interact with
North Korean soldiers.
- Koryo Museum, Kaesong
- we head to the city of Kaesong which was not destroyed by the Korean
War and boasts an old part of town, to visit what initially was a
university during the Koryo dynasty. We will be explained what life was
like in Korea in the medieval ages.
- Kaesong Stamp Shop - chance to purchase stamps, postcards (you can actually send these from North Korea to your home country) and artwork.
PM
- Lunch
at Tongil Restaurant (Kaesong city) - reunification restaurant. You will be served 12 different dishes in covered up golden plated small bowls.
- Drive
back to Pyongyang
- Stop at the Re-unification
Monuments - good chance to take some pictures
- Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum
- see the North Korean version of the Korean War. This museum exhibits
original weapons and vehicles used during the first Cold War conflict.
It was moved to a much bigger building in 2013 and is now a truly
impressive and detailed museum fully explaining the DPRK version of the
Korean War.
- USS Pueblo- US spy ship captured in 1968. The only US vessel in possession of another country and is proudly shown by the DPRK as a trophy
- Dinner: Local restaurant in Pyongyang
Overnight: Yanggakdo Hotel, Pyongyang
Day 4 - October 3 (Tuesday)
AM
- Breakfast: Yanggakdo Hotel, Pyongyang
- Drive to Mt. Myohyang- "Fragrance Mountain" is located in a beautiful quiet area of Korea. Chance to see a variety of landscapes when driving there
- International Friendship Exhibition Centresee
where thousands of gifts have been presented to the Leaders Kim Il
Sung, Kim Jong Il and Mother Kim Jong Suk (wife and mother of Kim Il
Sung and Kim Jong Il respectively). There is now too a new section for
the Leader Kim Jong Un.
- Pohyon Buddhist Temple
- initially built almost 1000 years ago (it has undergone restauration
several times), this used to be the centre of buddhim in this region of
Korea
PM
- Lunch:
Chongchon Hotel, Mt. Myohyang
- Drive back to Pyongyang
- Children's Palace - see the children taking extra curricular activities and then assist a truly amazing performance put on by them
- Dinner: Pyongyang Number 1 Duck BBQ Restaurant, Pyongyang
- Local
evening funfair
- we ask for a visit here to be arranged not so
much for the rides (which are great fun!) but more so because it is a
great chance to mingle with North Koreans. If you decide to take a ride
rates vary from
1.5 to 6 Euros per ride.
- Overnight: Yanggakdo Hotel, Pyongyang
Day 5 - October 3 (Wednesday)
AM
- Breakfast: Yanggakdo Hotel
- Pyongyang Film Studios - see where movies in North Korea are filmed. If lucky we might see a movie being filmed!
- National Embroidery Institute
- absolutely stunning artworks are produced here. We'll be able to see
the workshops where these are produced while the workers are making
them. You can also purchase sewn pictures. The other interesting aspect
of the embroidery institute is that is right by the Ryugyong Hotel and it is
then when you realise how gigantic this building is!
- Pohyon
Temple - initially built in 1042, it used to be the centre of
Buddhism in the region.
- Kim Il Sung University - chance to visit the top university in DPRK
PM
- Lunch: Local restaurant in Pyongyang
- Drive to the port city of Nampo -
located on the west coast of the DPRK. We will drive on the Youth Hero
Highway, a highway built by university students at the end of 1990s.
Some of the guides that we have now worked with for many years were
actually involved in helping construct the highway. We believe that
knowing the local guides as well as their personal stories and views on
life in North Korea as well as on the rest of the world are a vital
part of the trip and truly believe that our long lasting and trusting
relationship with our Korean partners as well as our small groups help
this to be attainable.
- Chongsan Cooperative Farm
- see how Koreans work and live in this model cooperative farm. We will
have the chance to visit a farmer’s home and walk around the fields
- West Sea Barrage - 8 km long barrage that seperates the West Sea and the Taedong River; a source of pride in the DPRK
- Drive back to Pyongyang
Overnight: Yanggakdo Hotel, Pyongyang
Day 6 - October 4
(Thursday)
AM
- 10.10 am train to Beijing - if interested in flying back
please contact us
PM
- Stopover at Sinuiju train station bordering China - DPRK customs
will
be carried out on the train
Day 7 - October 5 (Friday)
Arrive in Beijing at 08:38 am
China Golden Week Extended Tour