Welcome to the final part of my Great Wall of China journal where I discuss the last section of wall that I visited in the North West of China, on the Ancient Silk Road. Please visit my previous blogs to see where I started my journey: 1) Introduction 2)Middle Section 3) East section
I travelled to Jiayuguan from Xi’an by plane as it was the easiest and most cost effective means of transport. Jiayuguan was a pleasant change to the other parts of China that I had visited. Its history comes mostly from being located in the North West of China on the ancient Silk Road and being surrounded by lots of desert and drylands.
I was staying in a good value local hotel in the central part of Jiayuguan. Walking around the town, I seemed to be the only tourist in sight. I became popular with the locals who were curious about me and I endured the usual tugging of arm to be part of a photograph.It was interesting to experience the local community, market stalls, shops and street food. My location proved to be a good choice to visit the ancient Great Wall sites of the West and to catch a train to travel further to the Silk Road town of Dunhuang.
With an early start and with limited public transport possibilities, I negotiated a decent price with a local driver to take me to a few of the Great Wall sites. Jiayuguan’s Great Wall Fort was the first place on the list and is famous for being the most western pass of the Ming’s Great Wall of China.
Jiayuguan’s Great Wall and fortress “the First and Greatest Pass under Heaven”
Jiayuguan’s Great Wall and fortress is located in the Gobi desert near an oasis and is not like other famous sections near Beijing or Shanhaiguan, which are built with grey bricks and big stone slabs. This section is mainly built with loess. The loess soil was tamped together in layers, making the wall very solid. Each layer is 14 cm thick on average.
Together with the Great Wall across the valley, the fortress was an impregnable military defense system which therefore became known as “the First and Greatest Pass under Heaven” It was an important pass on the ancient Silk Road and the first pass to the Great Wall of China.
Inside the Fortress there are some amazing things to see such as the Theatre stage rebuilt from 1792AD. It has a wooden ceiling with a painting of the 8 diagrams on with more frescos painted on the walls. There are a set of beautiful, large strong doors a moat and beacon towers in this large complex of inner and outer walls.
Climbing to the top of the fortress gives you impressive views not only inside the walls but also outside where you can see just how remote the location is.
Nearby there is also the informative Jiayuguan Great Wall museum
Jiayuguan: The First Strategic Post of the Great Wall
A short 7.5 kilometres car ride south of the fortress is the most western starting point of the Ming Great Wall and an important part of the Jiayuguan defense system. It stands 50 meters from a 80-meter-high river cliff. It’s known as “The First Strategic Post under Heaven.
Some other parts of the old Ming Great Wall nearby
The Overhanging Great Wall
Still within the Jiayuguan region, me and my driver ventured back on the road near a railway track and dusty roads to see where the Ming Great Wall crosses with the old Ancient Silk Road.
It was a bumpy ride for much of the journey and in parts we ventured off of the barren roads across dusty fields.
This location shows evidence of a strong Silk Road history with a multitude of different cultures leaving behind their historical clues. It was constructed in 1540 and was built to obtain extra military denfense in the area as an extension of the Jiayuguan fortress that I visited earlier. What you see today is a heavily restored wall bringing the formally damaged original wall back to life. The Overhanging Great Wall gets its name from the effect is has that it is hanging over the mountain. Enemies on the attack would spend lots of energy getting over the mountain to attack the area, only to find this hidden wall stopping them from going any further.
It was a LONG walk up!
Once you reach the highest watch tower, the uphill climb is rewarded with stunning views across the Heishan Mountain and Gobi Desert Pass.
As you make your way down from the Overhanging Wall, you are treated to some information and displays about the significance of this area on the Silk Road.
I almost never made it to Dunhuang…
The following morning, I woke up at 4am to take a train to Dunhuang, over 300Km away. I was still located in central Jiayuguan and was told by a local that roadside taxi’s are available throughout the day and night. A taxi was necessary for me to get to the train station- a 15 minute drive away. The possibility of walking there in the early morning darkness was not recommended alone- it was also very far!
I gave myself an hour from leaving the hotel to get to the train station. After walking 2 minutes to get to the main road at 4.30am, it was very dark with hardly any street light and I realised that there were not any taxi’s available. I still had 45 minutes to find a taxi and thought this would be more than possible. Half an hour later after seeing only a couple of unavailable taxis drive by, I started to panic thinking that I would not be able to catch my train and my plans of reaching Dunhuang would be cancelled. I decided to walk further into the centre of town and then just as I had minutes to spare and about to give up, a taxi stopped for me- unbelievable!
I urged him to rush me to the train station, which he did. I tipped generously and ran out of the taxi trying to find out where my train was leaving from, a difficult task when unable to understand Mandarin- I hoped for an English speaking attendant. I scrambled to the front of the platform waiting area (where you are kept until boarding) and shoved my train ticket under the nose of the attendant. She looked shocked and put 3 fingers up to indicate platform 3 and I got the feeling she was trying to tell me the train was ready to leave. With all the energy I had left in me, I sprinted down the stairs and saw my train. With seconds to spare, I jumped into the nearest carriage with the doors closing shortly after me. It took me a while to regain my breath, but I was now on the way to Dunhuang…. I made it- just.
Dunhuang
Safely arrived in Dunhuang, I had a whole list of things to see over two days. I will cover the “other” things in a separate post but for now I’ll tell you about my visit to the Great Wall. Dunhuang is further west along the Ancient Silk Road, with deserts, cave grottos, oasis’ and of course, parts of the old Great Wall.
In my previous Great Wall visits, most of the wall was built in the Ming Dynasty, an era where improvements, expansion and stronger construction was developed. What I found interesting about the Great Wall in Dunhuang is that it is from the older period of the Han Dynasty.
The Great Wall of the Han Dynasty was mostly built by 121 BC, to defend against invasion from the Xiongnu (the Mongol Empire of the time), consolidate frontiers, and protect trade relationships with countries in West Asia.
There are two significant passes in Dunguang, the most western pass of the Han Great Wall is called Yumenguan and then 60Km south is Yangguan , the second most western pass. Both of these passes played a vital part in the defence of Dunhuang and also brought more trade and prosperity to the area. I visited these sites on different days due to the amount of travelling involved and time implications.
Yumenguan:
Yangguan:
My visits to the Great Wall of China was coming to an end. What I found really interesting was after I had visited the last of the Great Wall sites and travelled onto to my next destination, I notice other random parts of the wall scattered in the landscape. These parts of the wall were left undisturbed, out in the peaceful wild with an amazing history that I was unaware of.
Outro
So that concludes the final part of my Great Wall experience. Words cannot describe how amazing I found this experience but I hope that by reading my journal you can feel my passion come alive!
My first learning from this trip is about the great things mankind can achieve over time with dedication, strength, strategy and teamwork. My other learning is that when travelling, the world is so big that you have to see the places that YOU personally want to see and experience, save the tick box stuff for last and go and see what makes YOU excited….you know, the places that you wish you saw when you had the chance….
