Jiayuguan - The Westernmost part of The Great Wall

15.01.09
We left Dunhuang the morning the 13th by train, for the city of Jiayuguan. We were here until the evening the 15th when we jumped on the train to Lanzhou in the South of Gansu province. In Jiayuguan there are only 130000 people. But that doesn't mean the city cannot offer a lot.

An ancient fort, restored by the government, now serves as a museum and cultural park for tourists. Jiayuguan Fort is also the Westernmost part of The Great Wall. There were some great photos to be taken there, even though camel owners and shop keepers can be quite pushy at times. In addition we met a delightful young guy, at the age of seven, who had the best English we've heard so far in China. And yes, he was Chinese. He really astonished us and we had some fun, except from the fact that his mom continuosly asked about whether they could guide us somewhere in the district.

We also tried some exciting food here. Jiayuguan Bazaar really showed us that the point-and-taste tactic actually works. At least for most dishes, while others were a little bit too spicy for delicate Norwegian tummies.

That being said, the city also had some unpleasant experiences in store for us. The hotel room we stayed in, no name of hotel mentioned, was not cleaned and rather dirty. And that comes from Norwegians who like youth hostels and are used to sleeping in nature. But the fact that the floor had several used cigarettes and a lot of ashes. We also stayed next door to the common toilet, with screaming pipes and people coughing and spitting day and night. Last drop was spilled when we got a mysterious phonecall when we were going to sleep, someone asking if we wanted something that sounded suspiciously like massage. And with brothels just next door, we could only imagine what else is included in a massage.

But the room was only one part of it. Taxi drivers in the city gave us another surprise. Not only were they more noisy and persistent than in any other Chinese city (so far), but they also refused to use the meter even though we insisted several times. But it's not often as bad as it seems, and that goes for this trip as well. Because hard feelings towards the taxi drivers made us take more buses, and that gave us amazing experiences when it came to meeting people and discovering a cheaper way of sightseeing a city.

Even though we might be a little bit harsh here, we have no hard feelings at all. You have to experience both good and bad to really get a feel of an area, and we are still smiling when travelling through China.