October 10, 2014
THE GREAT WALL OF FRIGGIN' CHINA: An epic day
This was one of those epic days. It started at two in the morning. No kidding, two in the morning. That was about as cunning as my plan got I'm afraid. Want to travel further? Get up earlier! That was the idea. Actually it seemed like it was the only possible way if I was I was going to 'have my cake and eat it' so to speak. To get to Lanzhou by the 17th to meet Dea and still have time to visit the Great Wall of China and the Rainbow Mountains as well, this was the only way to do it.
The moon was still almost full and it had risen at the right time, meaning it was high in the night sky as I rejoined the G312, allowing me to see reasonably well. There wasn't very much traffic of course, and when a truck occasionally did rumble along I stepped aside to let it through. The G30 to my side was busier, the trucks on that seemed to simply drive all night long, but their presence made sure I couldn't get lost in the darkness.
I loved it. I always seem to when I do such crazy nighttime rides. There's a peaceful tranquility to it, and a sneaky sense of joy at being out adventuring while the rest of the world sleeps. A highlight was buying supplies at a service station having crept in through the back door. "What? You've never seen a westerner come in and buy Red Bull and crisps at four in the morning before?" I said to the surprised-looking staff.
Daybreak came although there was no sunrise as it was an overcast day and I switched back to the G30 to save time. The road was climbing steadily uphill but I approached the city of Jiayugan with 100 kilometres already on the meter by around midday. I knew Jiayugan was a special place because it marked the western end of the Great Wall of China and I was really excited about going to see the famous landmark. I knew that there was a fort and that it was just next to the road and I'd expected it to be signposted from the G30 and easy to find, but it wasn't. And, far from the romantic visions I'd had of seeing the Great Wall as I approached Jiayugan, all I was met with were smoke stacks and cooling towers and some of the most polluted air I had ever had the misfortune to have to breathe.
I got off the G30 at the main Jiayugan exit and cycled into the city. Against expectations my first impressions were overwhelmingly positive. The main street was a wide boulevard with a separated road on either side that was filled with bikes. It seemed more like being in the Netherlands than China, with bikes going everywhere. A lot of them were electric mind you, or motor scooters, but there were quite a few pedal powered ones too. And there was a lot of green - trees and plants providing a segregation between us and the main traffic that, at least at first, gave the impression of a safe and enjoyable place to ride a bike, and I fell even more in love with China.
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But all of that broke down at crossroads and roundabouts, and as I got further into the city. Chaos reigned. Utter chaos. It seemed like cars turning right from the main street had priority over bikes that were going straight on, but only sometimes. And the bikes were going both directions and turning across each other. People were walking in the side road, cars were parked there. Did cars turning down sideroads have priority over bikes in the side road? I never knew, I don't think anyone did. I just went amidst the chaos and did my best to survive it. And as for the roundabouts, well I went right through the town twice and did at least six roundabouts and to this day I have no idea whether I was supposed to give way left or right.
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I was trying to find the fort and eventually a nice man pointed me to a travel agents where I got a map. It turned out that the fort was right next to the road, just the wrong road. It would have been easy to spot had I arrived on the G312, but as I'd taken the G30 I ended up cycling an extra ten kilometres across the city to get back to it. But I got there and went to buy my ticket. 120 yuan. That's 12 pounds! A little steep, but come on it is THE GREAT WALL OF FRIGGIN' CHINA! Of course I was going to see it. So I bought my ticket and walked towards the fort, where I came to the main information board. I think you'll agree that this was worth the entrance fee alone. Stick with it, it almost makes sense at the beginning, but then it gets good:
The fort itself was a little disappointing. I'd been given the impression that the Great Wall of China was pretty old, so I was surprised to see that the fort was still being built:
Actually the whole thing had been a little too well restored. That's not to say it wasn't interesting, or that it wasn't worth visiting, but it wasn't worth 12 quid. Still it evidently meant something to the Chinese, who seemed very impressed, one or two I even noticed crying tears of joy as they entered.
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But all of this detracts us from the main story here, which was my quest to see the actual Great Wall itself. Of course the Great Wall is one of those iconic global landmarks, like the Eiffel Tower, that everyone should see once. I'd dreamed of visiting it since I was a little boy, and now my dream was about to be realised. I had visions of the Great Wall snaking it's way up and over the mountains, a fearsome and impenetrable structure of turrets, the trademark image we all have of the mighty wall. But it proved difficult to find. I knew it was leading away from the fort somewhere, and I imagined it would be easy enough to walk on, to realise that vision. Finally I found it. And there it was, The Great Wall of China!
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To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. It wasn't even possible to walk on the thing. What a waste of 12 quid, what a waste of time. Time that I didn't really have to waste. I looked again at my map and saw that there was another tourist sight marked on it called 'The Overhanging Wall.' That sounded like it might be more the ticket, but it was another eight kilometres away. I didn't really have any more time to spare, but come on, this is THE GREAT WALL OF FRIGGIN' CHINA we're talking about here. Of course I was going to go. So I left the fort and started cycling as fast as I could to get to it.
Once again the romantic visions I had of arriving at the Great Wall weren't exactly fulfilled as I cycled past more cooling towers and smoke stacks on the road out to the 'Overhanging Wall', but as I got closer I got happier. Ahead of me were the mountains and I could see, climbing up into them, something that actually looked like the Great Wall of China. And lucky for me the ticket I'd bought at the fort got me in here for free (although it would have only cost two pounds to enter here anyway - was that really too much for you Dongey?) And now, at last, I was standing on THE GREAT WALL OF FRIGGIN' CHINA!!!
Well here it was all very well restored too, although I suppose it had to be otherwise it would have just been crumbling stones wouldn't it? Personally I thought it was brilliant. There were hardly any other tourists and it was possible to climb up the steps to the ramparts high on the mountainside. I was very happy as I did so, I was fulfilling a dream.
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The trek back down was on a rather dangerously steep path down the mountainside, and the camels at the bottom were a little tacky, but I could only have positive things to say about having visited this iconic landmark. A lot more time had been lost, because after midday most of the distance I'd cycled had been going the wrong way, but come on, it was worth it. It was THE GREAT WALL OF FRIGGIN' CHINA!!!
Today's ride: 145 km (90 miles)
Total: 30,583 km (18,992 miles)
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