Jiayuguan - the great wall

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Jiaguan fort is at the western tend of the great wall. Parts of the fort have been rebuilt, but some of the Ming dynasty buildings survive. They include a theatre - perhaps the Chinese equivalent of the Globe - though it was much smaller.

Our camping spot was a few kilometres away, but this had a very different feel and there were no groups or tourist shops. I preferred it to the fort. The wall snakes up over the hill with intermittent guard towers. This section of the wall has been reconstructed, but it gave an excellent feel for the size and scale of the wall. The evening light made for good photos. the climb up was steep, but short. After dinner the insect life sent us fleeing from the mah Jong table to our tents.

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