From Xi’an, the first city on the Silk Road to the West, we decided to go to Jiayuguan which is also a symbolic city on the Silk Road. Indeed, in Jiayuguan, stands the last portion of the Great Wall in the West of China. In ancient times, everything West to the wall was considered as barbarian!
We took the train from Xi’an at 12h40 and we arrived in Jiayuguan the next day at 4h30! After a short sleep in a hotel, we went for sightseeing. We had the chance to discover Jiayuguan Fort under the sun and climb along the Great Wall a few kilometers away. The Great Wall is built steeply on the mountain, and the views from the towers are amazing on the desert!
But when looking back to the city of Jiayuguan we could spot from the wall the factory towers of this industrial city.
The Great Wall Museum near the Fort allowed us to know more about the Wall. It is built according to the topology and the geography, using mountains as natural barriers. There are several portions all the way from Jiayuguan to Beijing, built with different materials (wood, rocks, bricks…) depending on what the builders had at their disposition. Local rulers and populations would take part in building the wall to protect themselves, without the order of the central power.
After a full day of visiting the city, we took another night train along the Silk Road, to Turpan, the lowest point of China and our first step in Xinjiang, the Ouighour part of China!
Looking forward to what’s next!!
Hello there !
Not “factory towers” but coal power plant… And did you spot the solar panel fields ?
https://goo.gl/maps/uPFpdvKSs9K2
I must admit I was very enthusiastic about your initial pitch about “what made you happy today”, but I must selfishly admit that I’m kinda disappointed about the way it turned out.
You should have passed the Karakorum by now if I refer to your map. So maybe this will end up your “tourist’s delight” editorial path.
I guess my pakistani friends will wake you up. Just before you dive into Incredible India…
Anyway, keep on track and enjoy.
Thank you Pascal!!
We did not see the solar panels but it is worth saying that this part of China is indeed the “renewable energies” region with also a lot of wind fields. Because of their reputation as amongst the big emitters of greenhouse gases, we almost forget that they invest huge amounts of money in renewable energies!
We understand your frustration about the topic of happiness at work, because we are also frustrated we cannot give as much dedication to it as we expected! First because of language barrier and the fact that it is a subject that needs a deep conversation with the people we meet, and especially in Vietnam and China we found no opportunity to share about it. Second, we have some blog posts pending on this subject but they need more work than the travel posts, and we lack of time to write properly these articles!
So you have been to Pakistan?? You are right, the experience we live there is unique!