I have arrived to Jiayuguan in the evening. My plan is to stay there for 2 nights only. Jiayuguan is strategically one of the most important cities in Chinese history: it is the narrowest point of the Hexi corridor, the gateway to Central Asia. Jiayuguan is in the militarily most sensitive spot of the Chinese heartland. Historical birthplace of China – the northern plains – is very well protected by the Great Wall in the North, Tibetan Plateau and Himalays in the West and Southeast Asian jungles in the South. If a massive foreign army wants to march into China, it needs to march through Jiayuguan. Of course, Chinese new that and have developed a system of fortifications to protect China from foreign invasion. In fact, Jiayuguan is where the Ming Great Wall begins or ends.

My trip went off to a very bad start, however. Taxi dropped me off at my “hotel” around 11pm. However, I could not find the reception to my hotel. I have located the apartment building from the photos posted on Trip.com. Sometimes these cheaper places do not even have a proper reception, so it is rather difficult to find a way to your room. It was also very late so the only thing open nearby was a small store in the same apartment building. I have come inside to ask the woman working there for help. The store is the size of a very small room and it sells only the most essential products. I soon realized why the store was open at this hour. In one corner of this small room was a bed. The woman working there is also sleeping in her store, working, I guess 24/7. Jiayuguan is far, far away from the economic centres of China, and you can tell this straight away.

The old lady was trying to explain to me that I cannot get in. My translator was struggling to make sense of what she was saying. At one point I have left my stuff with her and went into the apartment building to look for the reception on different floors. I opened the door which I assumed would take me into another hallway, but it was someone else’s apartment. Embarrassed and angry, I have had it! I am going to find a new place and send a super angry email to Trip.com (Chinese version of Booking.com).

I found a group of young men, clearly intoxicated, across the street. One of them even spoke a bit of English and they took me to the nearby hotel. They clearly enjoyed the experience as one of them kept making videos of me walking to the hotel, me talking to the reception… There are not many foreigners visiting Jiayuguan.

After calming myself down a bit in my room, I have embarked on complaining to Trip.com. Then I realized that yesterday they had sent me an email that my reservation was cancelled because this “hotel” does not accept foreigners! This might sound strange but I have heard that there are accommodations that only accept Chinese guests. In fact, it says on the accommodation profile page on Trip.com if they accept foreign guests or not. I just was not paying too much attention to that. You should not make the same mistake.

After discussing my problem with Trip.com, they gave me an 8 euro coupon and refunded me for my cancelled reservation. So, all was well again, except that it was already almost 1 am and I had a busy day tomorrow.

Next morning I took a Taxi to the famous Jiayuguan fort. The fort got its name “the First and Greatest Pass under Heaven” for its strategic, commanding position and grand presence. To the south, the fort is protected by snow-capped mountains, while to the north lay desert hills of the Gobi Desert.

Fort is a large complex consisting of military buildings and installations, living quarters for generals and ordinary soldiers, temples and even theatre.

The largest living facilities were given to the general in command and his retinue. It is a collection of buildings encircled by their own wall. These buildings were used by the commander as his work and living quarters, as well as living quarters for his wife, their servants and his administrators.

Walking around the city walls of this magnificent fort, one can only imagine the battles being fought here, with a small number of defenders barricading themselves inside the fort and holding on a much larger force of attackers, desperately trying to break through the wall defenses. From above, you can clearly see the dangers looming for the attackers even after they have entered the fort. Many streets inside the fort quickly turn into traps. Defenders, while they still control the walls above, can let attackers into the streets and then close the door behind and trap them. Them the attackers become easy pickings for the soldiers stationed above them, as they hurl arrows, spears and gunshots on the helpless invaders.

As you leave the fort, there is a new kind of trap: a tourist trap! This time I could not resist. I must say that I was a superstar, the Chinese tourists have surrounded me to take photos of me, dressed as a Ghenghis Khan wannabe, and with me after my photoshoot was over.

You can even take a camel ride. You know what they say: “When in Rome, do what the Romans do.” It was around 20 euros for renting clothes and the camel ride, but it was worth it.

A few kilometers away in the desert is the “first strategic post”, which counts as the official beginning or the end (depending on how you look at it) of the Great Wall. I decided not to go there. It was rather hot, the sun was strong, and the post is in ruins. This is the google photo so judge for yourself if it is worth a hike.

Instead, I took another taxi to another section of the Great Wall. The Great Wall was built of different materials, depending on the availability. Mostly it is made our of stone, but this section is made out of a mix of mud and straw.

It is quite a steep hike, but not very long so very manageable, even for people who are not in the top shape.

You can hike your way down and get more views of the wall and the countryside.

I have finished my expedition by mid-afternoon and once I get back to Jiayuguan, I decided to walk around, get something to eat and buy some fruit for later. Jiayuguan is very “raw”. It will not get many points for hygiene, but you do get a sense of how people lived before the invention of refrigerator.

I found a local restaurant where a ordered a typical Chinese dish: a lot of paste, some vegetables and meat in traces.

The most interesting part was how they served the tea. In China, you either get free tea of boiling hot water with your meal. Over here, you could make your own tea and spice it up with dates and sugar.

After late lunch I had enough time to get a quick nap before heading to the gym. Tomorrow I had to get up early. Rainbow Mountain awaits.

I woke up early to catch the first train to Zhangye, which is around 90 minutes away with the high-speed train. Zhangye is a completely unextraordinary town, but it serves as a jumping point for Zhangye National Geopark, which is 40 km away, also known as Rainbow Mountains. In Zhangye, I managed to catch a bus to the National Park. The bus is around 1 hour and it leaves you in front of the parking lot and entrance into the National Park.

To explore the National Park you need to board a bus, which takes you to four different stations where you can explore the best parts of the National Park. You can also walk, I have seen some hiking routes, but I was on the tight schedule since I had a plane from Jiayuguan at 9 pm, so I was happy to save every minute that I could. The scenery is absolutely amazing. I will not try to describe it. I will let the photos speak from themselves.

The sightseeing lasted around 4 hours and it was time to get back to the railway station. The problem was there is no bus station at the National Park and I could not find where the bus stop is. Outside of the entrance there is a massive complex of parking lots and even the Chinese could not tell me where the bus stops. So I looked on AMAP (Chinese Google Maps) where is the road to the Zhangye and then went there and tried to hitchhike every bus that passes. Some buses where not going to Zhangye, but eventually the right bus stopped and I was off.

I just managed to get to my hotel to pick up my stuff and go to the airport to catch my flight. After spending over a month in Northern and Central China, it is time to explore China’s South.