Post the Thirteenth: Me? American? Noooo (Dandong 3 of 5)

Continued from Part II...

The Museum Commemorating the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. I told you I'm Brazilian, right?

Part III: The Museum Dedicated the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea

The Korean War, known in China as 抗美援朝战争, refers to the territorial war that took place between North Korea/China and South Korea/US/United Nations from 1950 to 1953 (though it is still technically ongoing). Both sides attempted to defend their territory from the opposing side, ultimately resulting in the division of the peninsula into communist/totalitarian North Korea and capitalist/democratic South Korea along the 38th parallel. While the War's causalities were high for all involved parties, they were particularly high on the North Korean/Chinese side. To this day, does China care? No, because in their mind they, a fledgling recently-established nation with few trained soldiers and even fewer supplies, were able to take on and beat back the attacks of imperialist and omnipotent United States of the America. Take that, capitalist scum!

The museum was built in Dandong to commemorate the Chinese victory over US/UN allied forces in the Korean War. Recently the museum underwent a massive renovation to increase museum space and bring the addition of a park full of old war planes and tanks. Simply stated, the museum is huge and is a huge source of national pride: Chinese tour groups that come to Dandong are required by federal law to pay a visit to the museum.

The museum tower at the top of the hill. Four statues flank the tower, each showing a group of Chinese/North Korean soldiers triumphing over "imperialism".

(At the museum entrance) Oh hi!...American? Of course not. My name is Paolo, I'm from Brazil.

Artillery outside the museum.

Upon entering the museum, we were immediately struck by the gravity of the displays. The main entrance had the declarations of war on the Chinese and North Korean sides (as well as a massive statue of Mao Zedong shaking hands with a North Korean general). These declarations, which sighted American arrogance and ruthlessness as the causes of the war, set the tone for the rest of our visit.

The actual artifacts in the museum are pretty impressive: there is a wide collection of weapons, supplies, artillery, communications, transmissions, etc on display with both English and Mandarin descriptions. Pictures of the war line the wars with captions describing the "determined actions of the Chinese volunteers" and "American blunders" in great detail. My personal favorite was the section detailing Chinese treatment of US/UN POWs: obviously the treatment was fantastic (never mind these prisoners were refused food and water until they agreed to attend Communist Party "reeducation camps"). While it was super interesting to see the Korean War told from the Chinese perspective, the museum brings bias to a whole new level.

A plaque honoring the great Chairman Mao.

An example of "unbiased" reporting. I will never complain about reporting bias ever again.

A lovely little scene depicting "brave Chinese volunteers" triumphing over "cowardly and incompetent" American and UN forces.

Tools used by the US/UN coalition. The quality of the artifacts was top-notch.

A stretcher used by American field paramedics.

"Friendship spirits" and "friendship cigarettes" given to soldiers in the North Korean PKA army.

A propaganda painting dating back to the Korean War depicting a Chinese volunteer defending China from greedy American...gremlins?

After somberly walking around the museum (though still trying to appear neutral - Brazil wasn't involved, right?), we took a tour of the museum grounds. There was a nice little park area directly behind the museum where locals in their 70's and 80's gathered to chat and walk their dogs while a woman trained a flock of doves to land on people's arms and eat birdseed out of their hair without pecking out an eye (not kidding). Two of our new-found army friends paid to enter the vehicle display area that housed a bunch of dilapidated mounted machine guns, tanks, and airplanes as well as a rusty jungle-gym thing. The rest of us, not in the mood for tetanus, decided to appreciate these relics from afar.

An old Chinese tank.

Some machine-gun things.

An old Chinese bomber. I think the Russians gave it to them.

While definitely not as happy as our boat ride on the Yalu River, the museum offered a illuminating glimpse into Chinese views of the West, North Korea, and themselves.

Even the ear-flaps on this Chinese volunteer are ready to combat the imperialist-aggressors.

End of Part III...