DandongislocatedonthebanksofYaluRiverandyellowcoastinthesoutheastofLiaoningProvince,acrosstheriverfromSinuijucityoftheDemocraticRepublicofKorea,withanadministrativeareaof135200squarekilometers.Thereare36ethnicgroupsincludingHan,Manchu,Mongolian,HuiandNorthKorea,withatotalpopulationof2.43million.In1988,itbecameanopencoastalcitywiththeapprovaloftheStateCouncil.IthasjurisdictionoverDonggangCity,FengchengCity,KuandianManchuAutonomousCounty,ZhenxingCity,YuanbaocityandZhen'ancityandanationalbordereconomiccooperationzone.In2006,itwaslistedasthe"fivepointsandoneline"keydevelopmentareainLiaoningcoastalarea.
DandongislocatedinthecenterofNortheastAsia.ItisanimportantintersectionofNortheastAsiaeconomiccircleandBohairimeconomiccircle.ItisthemainlandpassageconnectingtheKoreanpeninsulawithChinaandEurasia.ItistheeasternmoststartingpointofChina'sgreatwallandthenorthernmoststartingpointofChina'sWanliseaborder.Ithasuniqueadvantagesofcoastal,riversideandborder.
Therailwaytransportationis220kilometersawayfromPyongyangand420kilometersawayfromSeoul.ItisanimportanthubrunningthroughtherailwayarteryofNortheastAsia.Thehighwaytrafficis220kilometersawayfromShenyang,theprovincialcapital,and252kilometersawayfromDalian,formingabalancewiththetwonortherncentralcities.
Dandongportisonly245nauticalmilesawayfromIncheonportofSouthKorea,whichisaveryconvenientseapassageconnectingSouthKoreaandJapan.Dandonghasinitiallyformedathree-dimensionaltransportationnetworkofland,seaandair.
InLiaoning'scoastalopening-upstrategy,Dandong,asanimportantpoleinLiaoning's"fivepointsandoneline"opening-uppattern,isfacingunprecedenteddevelopmentopportunities.ThedevelopmentandconstructionofDandongnewareawillmakeDandongfroma"rivercity"toa"portcity",providinganewandhighergradeidealspacefordomesticandforeigninvestorstoinvestinDandong.
Dandongisclosetomountains,riverandsea.Ithasbeautifulsceneryandpleasantclimate.Thereisnointenseheatinsummerandnoseverecoldinwinter.Itsannualaveragetemperatureis9℃.Itisknownas"thenorthandsouthoftheYangtzeRiver".ItisthewarmestandhumidplaceinNortheastChinaandoneofthemostsuitablecitiesforhumanbeingstolivein.Intheterritory,rivers,lakes,seas,mountains,springs,forests,islandsandothernaturallandscapesarecompleteandeachhasitsowncharacteristics.Ithas24nationalandprovincialtouristscenicspots,naturereservesandforestparks.Itisoneofthetop20"citizens'mostsatisfiedcities"inChina.ItisanexcellenttouristcityinChinaandagardencityinLiaoningProvince.
Dandonghasacoastlineof126kilometersandabeachareaof328squarekilometers.Ithasgoodconditionsforthedevelopmentofport,shipbuilding,tourism,powergeneration,aquacultureandotherindustries.Dandongisrichingeothermalresources,with17naturaldewpoints.ItisafamoushotspringresortinNortheastChina.