Vast Chinese Walls Series: Jiayuguan

Western Regions live beyond Jiayuguan

The Williams trekked east from Ming Beacon Tower one

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Our mile-long walk next to a weathered, rammed-earth Vast Wall ended abruptly at the edge of the Taolai River Gorge. We'd arrived at the eroded First Beacon Tower marking the beginning (or end depending on perspective) of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall in the Hexi Corridor of Gansu Province. The gorge brooked no invaders.

The snow-capped slopes of the Qilian Mountains make appearances as the sky cycles from cloudy to clear and back. The temperature cannot make up its mind. It rains. We huddle as the wind, which has blown strong all morning, turns ferocious. Sand buffets our eyes. Hats blow askew. Moments later, I shed my jacket as a hot sun re-appears in a blue sky.

The famous fort at Jiayuguan, China's Ming boundary, lies several kilometers to the southeast. Modernity has encroached to the doorstep of the fort. Camel-shaped shuttlebuses pass souvenir stalls and restaurants lining the entrance way. A symphony of belching smokestacks dot the horizon bordering the nearby city.