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You are here: Home / Travels / China / Great Wall

Great Wall

The Great Wall at Jiayuguan, the final outpost and best-preserved section of the Great Wall.

Jiayuguan, the final fortress on the Great Wall, was built in 1372 by the Ming Dynasty and is over 3000 miles from the eastern outpost of the wall (!). Surely this qualifies as one of the ancient wonders of the world!

[Show as slideshow]
Jiayuguan Wall Fortress - Great Wall of China One of the gates to the great fortress of Jiayuguan. Inside, the path turns several right-angle corners (to slow down invading horses) and has gates that could be lowered to trap invaders.
Jiayuguan Wall Fortress - Great Wall of China A view of the inner buildings of the fortress.

Jiayuguan Wall Gate - Great Wall of China One of the reasons the wall is so well-preserved is that the clay was dug out of a riverbed (fewer weed seeds), steamed, then dried in the sun to kill weed seeds. Finally it was washed in a salt and alkaline solution to further discourage weeds.
Jiayuguan Wall Long View - Great Wall of China A view along a restored section of the Wall. I climbed up less than a kilometer of the wall, but my calves were sore for days afterwards! I can't imagine hauling heavy loads of clay up the mountain to build the wall.

Tien on the Jiayuguan Wall - Great Wall of China Me at the wall.
Jiayuguan Wall Travelingtiger - Great Wall of China The travelingtiger at the Wall.

Jiayuguan Wall Scenery - Great Wall of China Scenery from the top of the Wall. It's a beautiful, beautiful area.
View from the Top of Jiayuguan Wall - Great Wall of China Another view from the top of the Wall. (Photo courtesy Mike Magin.)

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