Famous Sections of the Great Wall:
Menu
- Home
- The Great Wall History
- Conditions & Protection
- The Great Wall Designs
- The Secret of Construction
- The Great Wall FAQ
- Stories & Legends
- The Great Wall Photos
- The Great Wall Map Center
- The Great Wall in Chinese
- The Great Wall & VIPs
- The Great Wall News
- The Great Wall Links
- Contact Us
The Great Wall News
Enjoy water and the Great Wall together
This summer, there is a place where you can visit historical sites and enjoy a cool breeze at the same time...
More…
China starts repairing damaged Great Wall
Repair work Saturday started on a section of the Great Wall that was intentionally damaged by a gold mining company in 2009 in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region...
More…
Two jailed for damaging Great Wall in north China
Two people have been jailed for intentionally damaging a section of the Great Wall in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, prosecutors said Thursday...
More…
Miss Bikini girls shine on Great Wall
Contestants of the 35th Miss Bikini International pose for photos at the Simatai section of the Great Wall on the outskirts of Beijing, May 19, 2010...
More…
The long and changing road to Jiayuguan
2008-01-11
Of all the transformations I have seen on this return journey along the Great Wall, perhaps none are collectively greater than in the province of Gansu, particularly Jiayuguan, the western end of the Ming Great Wall.
William Lindesay reaches the Jiayuguan Fortress in Gansu province after four weeks on the road. Piao Tiejun
When I alighted from train No 69 here 20 years ago, alone with a small backpack, harboring my audacious ambition to trek along the Wall, the trip had taken 59 hours from Beijing. Now I am told it takes just 34 hours.
Once out of the station, I trudged along dusty roads and discovered this was indeed a desert city.
Today's Jiayuguan is also up to speed, an oasis with tree-lined streets, an impressive sports stadium and booming tourism, proudly promoting itself as China's smallest city with a population of "only" 300,000 people. It is here that you see the policy of Xibu Kaifa, or western development, is for real.
Jiayuguan of old seems far away now, but I can still recall the grubby eateries around the main traffic circle - although there was no traffic then. I could not speak Chinese, so ordering was a problem. I felt relieved to have found a few peppers and eggs, thankfully avoiding the fly-infested pork offering. The dietary choices today are astounding, but I opted for a local favorite: beef noodle soup at Da Huzi's (Big Beard's) Noodle House, run by a friendly Hui Muslim who serves the best bowl of this delicacy outside its hometown of Lanzhou.
In the late afternoon, I drove toward the fortress. Instead of heading for the interior, I took a track leading across the open desert. I have approached it many times this way on foot, and it is always a thrill: this time because we had driven all the way from our Beijing home. Every time I am here, words written by a Briton come to mind.
"The cart bumped mercilessly over the loose stones of the dismal plain", wrote Mildred Cable of her approach in the 1930s, "and each slow mile brought the outline of the fort into clear relief."
Most of my route to the city of Jiayuguan had been quite the opposite. Miles had sped past swiftly and smoothly as I cruised along National Highway No 312, which runs the length of the Hexi Corridor in Gansu province. Only this final furlong was bumpy - a brief reminder of what desert travel of yesteryear was like.
Now the reward stood before me: the fortress perched atop a plateau, taking me back in time to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and in my book one of the finest sights on the entire Great Wall.
I shot a roll of film in the golden evening, stopping to watch dust devils spin over the desert. It was not quite the end of our road. We had events planned in Jiayuguan before continuing further west, in search of a much older Great Wall.
(China Daily 01/11/2008 page6)
The Great Wall Map Center
- The Great Wall Map in China
- The Ming Great Wall Map (Eastern Part)
- The Great Wall Sites in Beijing Area
- Badaling Area Guide Map
- Badaling Great Wall Map
- Mutianyu Great Wall Map
- Gubeikou / Jinshanling / Simatai Great Wall Map
- The hiking route of Jinshanling-Simatai Great Wall
.gif){kind=link}
About Us
Greatwallchina.info is a web-based platform and community for the people who intend to learn, talk and find out more about the Great Wall of China - a construction feat first built 2200 years ago.