Bus 23 will get you in the vicinity of Olympic Plaza. If you are living near the east gate of DUT (Dalian University of Technology), you probably hop the 23 at the starting point, right? As bus 23 gets closer to downtown, it passes by Olympic Square, but it is still about a 10 - 15 min walk to the actual shopping centre (and Walmart), under Olympic Plaza. (The shopping centre, and Walmart is underground). Plus, you'll need to know where to get of the bus, as you won't be able to see much of the shopping centre. I can't really remember the announcements on the bus, and my Chinese is useless in any case.
The best way to describe the place where you should get off, (from bus nr 23), is after the bus has passed a row of delapidated stand alone houses (probably what us westerners would describe as 'town houses'
, on your left. Get off at the next stop after bus 23 went passed those houses, and start walking to your left relative to the direction the bus was travelling. If you start seeing flood lights, you're doing good... that's the flood lights of the stadium next to Olympic Plaza. There are also 3 extremely drab looking high-rise apartment blocks that might be a point of reference (the so-called 'teachers buildings), but there is nothing 'teachy' about them. Rather look for three similarly gray (drab) high rises, (the 3 buildings are quite tall), with pointy roofs.
Alternatively, you can change from bus 23 to bus 801, at Hei Shi Jiao. Bus 801 goes right by the shopping centre at Olympic Plaza. It's a 2RMB, smaller bus, (not the normal 'long' buses), but it's worth it - it's actually possible to get a seat on the 801 bus... I just love that little bus! You'll be able to spot Olympic Plaza from the bus. Look for the Olympic rings that will be to your right, and a Starbucks Coffee to your left.
Hope this helps...
DG.
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