Dandong City, Liaoning Province, northeast China - March 12, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of passenger train at station; sign reading (Chinese/Korean) "Dandong-Pyongyang"
2. Various of train running, crossing Yalu River via border bridge
3. Aerial shot of bridges, city view

Dandong City, Liaoning Province, northeast China - March 12, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Various of people posing for photos by riverside; locals, tourists, border bridge

Dandong City, Liaoning Province, northeast China - March 12, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) local resident (no name given):
"This is a lot more convenient, since it saves us locals the trouble of having to travel all the way to the Shenyang Taoxian International Airport and taking a flight to the DPRK."

Dandong City, Liaoning Province, northeast China - March 12, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
6. Various of train running on border bridge

Dandong City, Liaoning Province, northeast China - March 12, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
7. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) local resident (no name given) (starting with shot 6):
"I also hope that the resumption of the train services will help Dandong prosper and develop better."
8. Aerial shot of bridges, city view

Dandong City, Liaoning Province, northeast China - March 12, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
9. Various of traffic, stores
10. Various of railway station, taxis, sign

China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday officially resumed two-way international passenger train services after a six-year hiatus.

The return of services between the two neighboring countries comes after operations were suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The cross-border trains will run between Beijing and Pyongyang, the capital of the DPRK, and between Dandong, a northeastern Chinese border city in Liaoning Province, and Pyongyang.

The first passenger train departed from Dandong at 10:00 Beijing Time Thursday morning and pulled into the railway station in central Pyongyang shortly after 18:00 local time, after crossing the Yalu River via a border bridge. [xinhua]

A number of locals and tourists gathered along the riverside in Dandong on Thursday to watch the symbolic moment as the first train made the crossing.

Dandong residents have welcomed the resumption of passenger rail services, which they saves them having to make a 250-kilometer journey to the provincial capital Shenyang in order to catch a flight.

"This is a lot more convenient, since it saves us locals the trouble of having to travel all the way to Shenyang Taoxian International Airport and taking a flight to the DPRK," said a local man.

Another resident hopes that the re-opening of the route will help boost the development of Dandong, which is seen as a vital hub for bilateral trade between China and the DPRK.

"I also hope that the resumption of the train services will help Dandong prosper and develop better," he said.

Meanwhile, another passenger train departed Beijing at around 17:30 local time Thursday, and is scheduled to arrive in Pyongyang on Friday afternoon, after ​making a stopover in Dandong.

The Dandong-Pyongyang passenger line will operate daily in both directions, while trains between Beijing and Pyongyang will run four days a week, with two-way services scheduled for Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, according to the China State Railway Group.

China expects the resumed train services to help facilitate cross-border travel and boost economic, trade and cultural exchanges between the two countries.