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Published: December 28th 2007
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Its cold in Jiayuguan, especially when riding a bicycle
So I arrived in Jiayuguan early this morning, so early that most of the hostels or hotels were still closed. The two places that I did have a look at both said no when i asked about dorm rooms, so etiher they were both full (unlikely) or they didn't want me to pay the cheap rate, so I ended up forking out for a decent room with a fantastic shower - really, this thing is amazing, it reminds me of the whizz-bang toilets that the Japanese have: more buttons than you know what to do with.
After programming the shower (which took 20minutes) and then having a shower (which took 20minutes) I rested for a little while in my nice warm room before rugging up and heading out into the streets of Jiayuguan. On my way out I noted on the reception weather forecast board that it was going to be a high of minus six degrees today, balmy for these parts. I wandered around a bit and was surprised to see how quiet the streets were considering it was almost eleven o'clock but I would fiond out later that Jiayuguan,
while big, is actually a pretty quiet little city, which is a far cry from what I expected.
Somehow I managed to find a place to rent a bicycle and now with a mode of transport I decided to tackle teh recommended sights in the LP, so I cycled to 5km out of town to the Jiyuguan fort. This place is a little disappointing and if I hadn't got the student discount I would have been even more put out. Basically they have rebuilt the walls of the fort and the two gate towers but the inside of the fort is bare, except for the General's residence which was locked anyway. Nevertheless wandering out of the East Gate, the Yianguan (not sure about that spelling) Pass and imagining what it would have been like for those that were cast out, even now there is absolutely nothing there except desert and mountains. Seriously, what would those people have done? The one saving grace of the entrance ticket is that it also gives you entry to the Jiayuguan Great Wall Museum which is a pretty tidy little museum, definitely worth a look.
After that I then rode a little further
trying to find the 'overhanging Great Wall' and getting a little lost I asked a local man if I was on the right road and he indicated that I was but he kept waving his arm down the road and I got the impression that he meant it was a long way off. He was right. I cycled another 7km from the fort and came to a dishevilled looking place with absolutely no-one around except for a cute little kitten who just stood in the doorway and meowed at me. Although after a few cries of 'nihao' a woman came up and sold me a ticket and seemed amazed that I had arrived here by bicycle. This section of the Great Wall may not be as famous as the other end and it definitely doesn't look like the other end, but it is the fact that somewhere along the line they are connected that truly makes it a Great Wall. It was a pleasant walk up to the top where I was rewarded with excellent views of the Qilian mountain range on one side and the start of the Gobi desert on the other.
I cycled all the way
back into town and by the time I got there the water in my water bottle, which had been sitting in the basket at the front of the bike, was frozen and when I removed my neck warmer from my face for a few minutes the breath that had been trapped in the fleece also froze. It was cold and time to head back to the warm hotel. However, when I returned the bike I ended up walking through town and I came across the advanced train ticket booking office and thought that I should book my ticket to Dunhuang to make sure that I get a ticket. I went in and the struggle began, no English and limited Chinese and a phrasebook. In the end I deduced that she couldn't sell me the ticket here and I needed to go to the train station itself. A short taxi ride to the station and while standing in line to buy my ticket the nosey guy behind me spied that I wanted to go to Dunhuang and he then proceeded to show me that there were three daily trains to Dunhuang: one at 3am, one at 4am and one at 7am.
In ecxchange for letting him go in fron tof me he also indicated to the ticket lady that I wanted the 7am one and then the rest was up to the phrasebook. I am always amazed whenever I manage to get a train ticket, I just never know how the bloody hell I do it because it is always so hard (well for me anyway).
Anyway, my train to Dunhuang is on the 30th so I have tomorrow here in Jiayuguan and plan to spend the day wandering around the town.
Thanks for reading.
Matt out
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MikeV
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isolation...
OMG - how would you feel being thrown through that gate and having nothing and no one to help you and facing a desert and marauding tribes from Mongolia. The wall (i have to say) looks absolutely amazing and more so than back at Beijing, purely because of it's remoteness and immensness (is that a word?) in the landscape. Fabulous pics Matt - safe travels. D x