# Family Road Trip at the Borderland

> A Chinese-American daughter and her cancer-recovered father drive across the Yalu River to North Korea's borderland, chasing fall foliage and reconnecting.
- Title: Family Road Trip at the Borderland · Longreads | Shortify
- Summary: A Chinese-American daughter and her cancer-recovered father drive across the Yalu River to North Korea's borderland, chasing fall foliage and reconnecting.
- Keywords: yalu river, north korea, fall foliage, cancer recovery, family road trip, borderland, dandong, donggang, chinese-american, road trip, Longreads
- Source: Longreads — https://longreads.com/2026/10/29/family-road-trip-china-north-korea
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: yalu river, north korea, fall foliage, cancer recovery, family road trip, borderland, dandong, donggang, chinese-american, road trip, technology, startups
## Father's road trip idea
My father proposes a fall foliage road trip along the Yalu River, the border between China and North Korea.
## Father's driving skills
He recently earned a driver's license from a shoddy driving school in Dandong, a border town on the Yalu River.
## Father's car purchase
He bought a Chinese domestic bestseller for eight thousand US dollars, which he only crashed into one neighbor's parked car.
## Grandmother's financial habits
My grandmother plugs the bathtub and gathers water from a faucet dripping at a volume feeble enough to go undetected by the water meter.
## Father's cancer diagnosis
My father had cancer, one month post-op from the removal of a malignant tumor in his colon.
## Father's refusal of chemo
The doctor recommends preventive chemotherapy to deter recurrence, but my father says no.
## Family estrangement
We have been estranged since my parents divorced, with little contact for years.
## Grandmother's health concerns
My grandmother is allergic to most forms of financial expenditure and has a medical condition requiring medication.
## Grandmother's food habits
She cooks homemade fennel dumplings and pork trotters for special occasions.
## Father's driving plan
My father plans to drive to Donggang, where my grandmother will get medicine from her health insurance.
## First night in Dandong
We arrive at Nainai's apartment in Dandong, where she cooks a feast of homemade fennel dumplings and pork trotters.
## Dinner at Mongolian restaurant
We eat at a Mongolian restaurant with leg of lamb, er'guotou, and cold salads.
## Grandmother's refusal to eat
My grandmother refuses to eat the lamb, saying we have food at home.
## Father's driving speed
My father drives at about 30 miles per hour, his highest speed since learning to drive.
## Road trip to Donggang
We drive to Donggang, where my grandmother gets medicine from her health insurance.
## Family dinner at cousin's
We eat seafood at cousin Yin's compound, including crab, clams, shrimp, and jellyfish.
## Grandmother's hidden money
My grandmother hides 200 RMB under a photo frame for the trouble of our lunch.
## Fall foliage discovery
We find fall foliage on the mountains around the artificial lake in the national park.
## Family reunion
My father and I have the most conversation in decades, navigating the road together.
## Grandfather's grave
We visit my grandfather's grave in the cemetery, where he died when I was a freshman in college.
## Key takeaway

A Chinese-American daughter and her cancer-recovered father drive across the Yalu River to North Korea's borderland, chasing fall foliage and reconnecting.