Gallery update
One of the most impressive sections of the Great Wall I visited in Ningxia is the Guidegou (归德沟) section, located in the Helan Mountains close to Shizuishan. Although spending a lot of time searching Google Earth for traces of the Great Wall, this section was completely unknown to me, so fortunately some of the local people I visited was kind enough to show me this section.
The wall here is divided into two sections, a north and a south section, however theses were probably originally connected to each other. The northern section is less than 100 meter and the southern section is about 500 meters long. The northern section seems to have three watchtowers, two of the made by stone, one of them overlooking the gully below, but no traces of the wall can be seen in the bottom of the gully. At some point there was probably some kind of defensive structure down in the the gully as well, otherwise it would have left the defence wide open.
The northern sections seems to be the most interesting one, however due to heavy wind and facing a dangerous hike we decided to return to the safety of the gully. Our local guide told a story about a kid that climbed at southern wall, but he was unable to get down again and had to be rescued. When looking at the steep slope on both side of the wall it seems highly likely that one could be caught up there.
Entrance price: free
Date of visit: October 9, 2008
Ningxia Beacon tower
Sanguankou
Another place to visit the Great Wall is Sanguankou (三关口 – Sān guān kǒu). Sanguankou means Three gate pass but not much is left of the gate at this place. The wall is located at a gap in the southern part of the Helan Mountains 40 kilometres southwest of Yinchuan.
It’s a truly amazing sight to arrive at Sanguankou, right on the border to Inner Mongolia, to see how the wall continuing as far as the eye can see south through the desolate dry landscape. The vast emptiness of this location, even though not far from the bustling city of Yinchuan, makes it seem like stepping into another world.
This is one of the few passes going all the way trough the mountains, so no doubt that this was once a very important pass of the Great Wall.
At several places the wall has been destroyed by water passing trough the wall or to make way for roads. Some places it even seems that small caves have been dug into the bottom of the wall to provide shelter for shepherds. Otherwise the wall is in fairly good condition here, and it’s really amazing that a wall of this kind can survive for about 500 years.
Entrance price: free
Date of visit: October 8, 2008
After some investigation I think this section should be called Jiejiagou:
Chinese name: 竭家沟
Pinyin: jié jiā gōu
English:
jié: make the utmost effort
jiā: home/house/family
gōu: gulley
During at recent business trip to Ningxia and Gansu I had the chance to visit some Great Wall in the area, especially around Yinchuan (capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region) where several locations offer Great Wall sightseeing.
One of the visited places was Shuidonggou (水洞购 – shuǐ dòng gōu), which mean Water Cave Gully. Here the Ming Great Wall pass a small tributary, that connects to the Yellow River 9 kilometres north-west of there.
The wall here is without any repair although some sources claim that this section will be renovated, however I didn’t see any sign of repair. Some places the wall is not much more than a pile of sand, but still it’s very interesting to see how this mud wall have survived so many years, and it’s difficult not to be impressed by the workmanship that have allowed the wall to survive so many years.
From Shuidonggou the Great Wall continues east into the Shanxi province. The wall can easily be found by following the express way from Yinchuan to the airport. From the airport exit go north and follow the road parallel to the express way.
Entrance price: free
Date of visit: October 8, 2008
GreatWall.se gallery
I planed to make an online gallery with some of my many pictures of the Great Wall long time ago, but my plan to open the gallery with all the pictures at one time proved to be too difficult.
Now I’ve decided to start off the gallery and then add pictures whenever I have time to do so. The first pictures are from Liujiakou in Hebei. Please click on the picture above to go to the gallery, and check on the blog for any updates of the gallery. Every update will be announced here on the blog.
Return to Liujiakou
At the end of September I went back to Liujiakou (刘家口) in the western part of Qinhuangdao, Hebei, a place I visited for the first time in February this year. Back then it was very cold so I only stayed a short time, so this time I planed to reach the top of the mountain – a hike of about 2.2 kilometres. Unfortunately, I misjudged the time so I only had time to go to where the steep climb begins before I had to turn back, and wait for another time to climb the mountain. I probably take too many photos, so even a very short hike can take a long time.
The main feature at Liujiakou is the cross-water watchtower, the biggest of its kind in Hebei province. The tower is 10 meters long, 9 meters wide and 12 meters high with a 6.36-meter high water passage in the middle.
According to one of the locals, the tower contain a stone tablet with some inscriptions, but the access to the tower is not easy since the wall close to the tower have completely disappeared.
From the tower the wall can be accessed on both the west and east side. So far I have only hiked the east side, and from the tower it’s only a short walk to the beginning of the Great Wall.
The Great Wall here is in very bad condition, and the original brick covering can only be seen in a few places including the watchtowers.
To the north of the wall there is a distinct ditch running along the wall. This is probably the place where the stones to build the main part of the wall was collected, however later it might have served as an extra defence against an advancing enemy.
From the top of the wall, there is a beautiful view to the west where the wall winds its way towards the Lengkou section.
When coming from Bejing follow the Jingshen expressway towards Qinhuangdao and exit towards Qian’an (迁安) and follow S252 north towards Qinglong (青龙). At Jianchangyingzhen (建昌营镇) take S363 to the east and continue until Liujiayingxiang, and then follow the road from here to the north. Another way is to take the exit on the expressway after the Qian’an exit and then follow the road north.
Entrance price: free
Date of visit: September 30, 2008
Yesterday I flew from Beijing to Yinchuan in the Ningxia province for some business meetings.
I managed to get a few photos of the Beijing Great Wall from the plane. The photos are by no means perfect, however it gives a good impression on how the Great Wall winds its way trough the mountains.
Apart from the business meetings I should also have some time to visit the Great Wall around Yinchuan.
Laolongtou – Old Dragon’s Head
During a visit from my family we made a one day trip to Laolongtou (老龙头) a few kilometres south of Shanhaiguan (山海关). Although it was heavily damaged by the invading Eight-Nation alliance in 1900 and restored in 1984, it is still worth a visit especially because this is the place where the Great Wall meets the Bohai Sea.
Most of the wall here is completely new, but some of the original stones can still be see since it was reused during the renovation, and part of the original Ninghai wall is preserved behind glass.
One of the most impressive parts of Laolongtou is the Chenghai Tower, which stands majestically looking out at the see from the top of the Laolongtou fortification, looking down at the Great Wall stretching into the sea.
Laolongtou was first constructed by General Xu Da (1332—1385) during the early Ming Dynasty. When he constructed the Shanhaiguan Pass, Laolongtou was chosen as the place where the wall meets the sea. Later in 1579 General Qi Jiguang extended the wall 23 meters into the sea.
After large parts of China was united during the Qing dynasty, the Great Wall at Laolongtou lost it military significance but remained a popular place to visit the sea.
Laolongtou is still a popular place to visit, but being so far away from Beijing it’s normally no problem to visit without too many tourists as long as you avoid the Chinese holidays.
From Laolongtou the Great Wall continues north towards the fortified city of Shanhaiguan and Jiaoshan mountain. All three places can be visited in one day, and Shanhaihuan can easily be reached by car by following the Beijing-Shenyang expressway or by train or bus from Beijing.
Entrance price: 50 RMB
Date of visit: September 16, 2008
Recent Comments