shown on ceramic, 12-inch tilePeople's Republic of China

on the Yalu River, across from Sinuiju, in Liaoning

Dandong

— — a city that ends at a river and starts again across it.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.

— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand

— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines

— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall

— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround

— a note from the studio

“The largest border city in China, set on the lower Yalu River opposite Sinuiju in North Korea. Two bridges leave the embankment, one whole and working, one shortened to a stump by American bombs in 1950 and kept that way. The evening lights come on in Dandong long before any answer them on the far bank. from the studio

from the studio

— bring it home

Dandong, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?

One tile — square or rectangle.

How big?

the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand

6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb

Surface finish

A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.

How it sits

A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.

$58

Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.

— size

6 × 6 in

15 cm

— weighs

1.6 lb

solid in the hand

— surface

ceramic, hand-finished

art rests beneath a thin glossy finish

— from

Knoxville, TN

our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies

— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Dandong

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.

— the place

Dandong is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Liaoning Province, set on the right bank of the Yalu River where it meets the Korea Bay. The city of about 2.4 million sits directly opposite Sinuiju, the largest border crossing between China and North Korea, and handles the majority of overland trade between the two countries. The municipality reaches inland to the Changbai foothills and out to the river mouth, covering roughly 15,000 square kilometres. The downtown waterfront looks straight across the Yalu at a different country.

— informed by Wikipedia — Dandong

— the water

The Yalu River runs 795 kilometres from the slopes of Paektu Mountain to the Korea Bay, and for most of that distance it carries the border between the People's Republic of China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. At Dandong the river is more than a kilometre wide. River cruises run from the Chinese embankment up close to the North Korean shore, where farmland and low concrete buildings stand without much light at night. Spring break-up sends ice the size of cars past the bridges.

— informed by Wikipedia — Yalu River

— the stone

Two bridges leave Dandong for the far bank. The Yalu River Broken Bridge, opened in 1911 by the Japanese colonial railway, was bombed by the United States Air Force in 1950 during the Korean War, and the North Korean half was never rebuilt. The Chinese half ends in mid-river and is now a memorial walkway. The Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, completed in 1943 just upstream, still carries the only working rail and road crossing between the two countries. Both lattices are floodlit after dark from the Chinese side.

— informed by Wikipedia — Yalu River Broken Bridge

— where

People's Republic of China · Dandong, Liaoning

— position

40.1290° N · 124.3939° E

— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.

1 km S

Sinuiju

city in DPRK

220 km NW

Shenyang

provincial capital

250 km NE

Changbai Mountains

mountain range

Dandong

Sinuiju

Shenyang

Changbai Mountains

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Dandong — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

Dandong is in southeastern Liaoning Province, on the right bank of the Yalu River where it meets the Korea Bay. It sits directly opposite Sinuiju in North Korea, about 220 kilometres southeast of Shenyang.

It is the largest border city between China and North Korea and handles most overland trade between the two countries. The Yalu River Broken Bridge, half-destroyed in the Korean War, is the city's best-known landmark.

The Yalu River Broken Bridge was bombed by the United States Air Force in November 1950 during the Korean War. The North Korean half was never rebuilt; the Chinese half ends in mid-river and now serves as a memorial walkway.

Yes. The Yalu River is just over a kilometre wide at the city's waterfront, and Sinuiju stands plainly visible on the far bank. River cruises bring visitors close enough to read farm buildings on the North Korean shore.

The prefecture-level city covers about 15,000 square kilometres and has a population near 2.4 million. The downtown is the busiest section of the entire Sino-North Korean border by a wide margin.

— about the piece in your home

It has read well for customers whose families crossed the Yalu or who served along the river during the Korean War. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note carries the weight of a specific place rather than a general gesture.

The river greys and bridge ochres sit well in muted East Asian modern, industrial minimalist, and slate-toned interiors. The palette is sober enough to anchor a room without competing with warm wood or linen.

It reads cleanly in the current quiet-luxury and East Asian modernist direction, where muted, painterly art replaces high-contrast prints. A Medium or Large holds a wall without shouting.

Above a standard sofa a single Large or a 4-tile Mural carries the bridge line across the wall. For shorter spans above a console, a Medium is usually the right scale.

Yes, in either Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and humidity-stable, so the tile works on a backsplash or shower wall as well as it does framed.

A microfibre cloth with plain water. The colour lives slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, beneath a thin glossy finish, so there is nothing to lift off.

— if this one stayed with you

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