China's renewed engagement with North Korea is raising hopes for a future tourism boost in the northeastern border city of Dandong, where visitors gather along the Yalu River and at the Broken Bridge for a rare look into one of the world's most isolated countries.

For many tourists, the attraction is not just the view across the river, but the sense that they are standing at the frontline of a relationship that may be entering a new phase.

That sense of possibility has grown since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un travelled to Beijing in September for a military parade, a visit widely seen as signalling a thaw after years of colder ties. Five weeks later, Chinese Premier Li Qiang visited Pyongyang, and both sides projected a message of renewed cooperation.

In Dandong, tourists say any improvement in relations could eventually bring clear benefits to the local economy. Wu Fen, a visitor from Jinan in eastern China's Shandong province, said better ties would "definitely" help local tourism and development. She said if North Korea opens more fully to Chinese visitors, one-day tours across the border could expand quickly, creating the kind of tourism growth seen in other border regions.

A train service from Beijing to Pyongyang set to restart for the first time since the COVID-19 on March 12. Tickets were sold out, an official ticketing office in Beijing said on Tuesday (March 10).

China's railway authority said in a notice that the resumption from March 12 will "further promote China-North Korea travel, trade and economic cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges to enhance mutual well‑being and friendship".

Others say Dandong already offers visitors a sense of North Korea's presence. A tourist from Hubei province surnamed Wang said the relationship between the two countries feels long-standing and solid, adding that even from Dandong she could sense North Korean culture through the city's symbols, atmosphere and history.

That optimism comes as Reuters reporting found new signs of activity along the border. Satellite imagery showed fresh road markings and other infrastructure on the Chinese side of the unopened New Yalu River Bridge, as well as construction at other border crossings and port facilities. Analysts say the work suggests Beijing is preparing for increased cross-border traffic and deeper economic engagement if conditions allow.

But for now, the reopening remains limited. North Korea has been closed to most tourism since 2020, and the New Yalu River Bridge — completed by China in 2014 at a cost of 350 million U.S. dollars — still carries no traffic. In Dandong, residents and business owners have spent years waiting for a promised boom that has yet to fully arrive.

According to a Reuters report, China appears to be trying to reassert its traditional influence over North Korea at a time when Pyongyang has drawn much closer to Russia since Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. North Korea has supplied troops and weapons to Russia in exchange for support including fuel and food, giving Kim Jong Un new political and economic options.

Against that backdrop, closer ties with Pyongyang could give Beijing greater sway over North Korea just as U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed interest in reviving talks with Kim. China's exports to North Korea reached a six-year high last year, while both sides have stepped up political messaging and border cooperation.

Even so, analysts say the rapprochement remains cautious. Sanctions remain in place, trade logistics are still restrictive, and any reopening is expected to be gradual.

For tourists in Dandong, though, the bigger picture still comes down to what stronger ties could mean for ordinary people. As one visitor put it, good relations between the two countries would benefit tourism and improve living standards on both sides of the border.

Production: Maxim Shemetov, Josh D. Arslan/Reuters