Paula Silva on DALIAN!

Dalian is a major city and seaport in the south of Liaoning Province, China. It is located on Korea Bay north of the Yellow Sea and roughly in the middle of the Liaodong peninsula.

The city administers 7 districts, 2 county-level cities, and 1 county.

Today, a financial, shipping and logistics center for Northeast Asia; Dalian has a history of being used by foreign powers for its ports and it has had a lot of different names in Chinese, Russian and English, in fact, the city was better known as Port Arthur.

You can visit Dalian the whole year:

-From January to February, The Bingyugou Ice Lantern Festival is held in Zhuanghe City. The event features a large number of ice sculptures, snow sculptures and colorful ice lanterns. Visitors can also participate in a series of ice-sports including ice-skating, ice hockey and iceboating.

-From late April to May, the Lüshun International Cherry Blossom Festival is held. The main site is 203 Hill, and it has more than 3000 cherry trees, and boasts to be the largest cherry blossom park in China with the most varieties.

-Each May, the Dalian International Walking Festival takes place. The purpose of the festival is to foster health and peace for the whole community. It is widely popular among citizens and attracts many foreign participants. Four different routes of 30, 20, 10 or 5 kilometres are provided for participants, with the longest route going from Xinghai Square reaching Dalian International Conference Center. Also in May, you can run or see the Dalian International Marathon.

-Every June, the China International Software & Information Service Fair is held in Dalian World Expo Center.

-Dalian International Beer Festival takes place in Xinghai Square every year from July to August. It is similar to Oktoberfest in Munich and is a popular event in the city.

-The annual Dalian International Fashion Festival is held in September in Dalian Xinghai Convention & Exhibitions Center and Dalian World Expo Center. For the past decade, the festival has been attracting the world's top fashion designers, businessmen and models to Dalian.

If you prefer you can also visit its architecture, museums, zoos, parks and beaches.