Originally Posted by
alex999
Moondog mentioned that Air China would have trouble to fill flights between FUK and PEK, and so they would have a stop in Dalian (CA 953). I talked to the flight crew of CA 953, and the reason given for stopping in Dalian was: There is a large Japanese population in Dalian, with many of them traveling back and forth between Fukuoka and China!
If you read up on history, Dalian was a Japanese colony prior to WWII, sort of like a Japanese analog to the British colony in Hong Kong. From what I have heard, Dalian people are known for being much more Japan-sympathetic than other Chinese mainlanders. Many young people study Japanese there, and at least a few years ago many Japanese companies were outsourcing their back office to Dalian.