Tiger Beach Naval Ships Exhibition Center, Dalian

Firstly, change "Ships" to the singular. A taxi driver said this ship fought with China against the Japanese. It didn't. The Yahoo travel guide calls it a "missile cruiser". It isn't. Also promised is a shop offering the biggest selection of hobby kits in Dalian. No shop aboard. 20 yuan per person is reasonable, if there was reasonable lighting on board. There wasn't. Largely stripped out and unmaintained It is little more than a big steel jungle gym with very steep ladders (stairs to you landlubbers) and plenty of head- and knee-knockers, a lawyers delight all around. Still officially owned by the PLA Navy, it presents a poor image, one not tolearated by US equivalent ships operated as museums. Fortunately, or maybe not, it is not actually afloat, but resting on supports in the water. I know it's the off-season, but handfuls of ancient sea vets in the US do better jobs with their museum ships than the PLAN does with this one, by every conceivable measure. In case after case after case. Dalian is one of China's earliest "international" cities, and I can't believe this decay and unprofessional and unreasonable presentation is allowed to continue. Sad.

I was allowed to board this ship and explore on my own self guided tour. It was extremely fascinating being able to see a circa 1940 ex-Soviet ship. You could visit what was left of the bridge and see everything from stem to stern. Absolutely fascinating if you like historic naval vessels.