Western End of the Great Wall – Jiayuguan, China

Set off down the Gansu Corridor to Jiayuguan Fort – the last point on the Great Wall before the six-day Gobi desert crossing.

The fort was fun but obviously completely rebuilt compared to the neighbouring remnants of the Great Wall. Various activities were on offer, such as camel rides and the chance to do some archery, shooting arrows at the invading Mongol hordes and Chinese tour guides.

It was also our cook groups first turn to cook for everyone. We went shopping in a little village, picking up fruit and veg and a chicken (which we had to pick out of a cage). The campsite was beneath a hill topped by one of the last stretches of the great wall, so an attractive location to learn how to kill, pluck and skin a chicken. I then carefully removed all the meat and discarded the bones, which everyone appreciated, until a friendly chap came over and helpfully chopped up the bones, feet, head and other discarded bits and chucked them in the wok. It tasted ok, but the claws got a bit stuck in the teeth…

Hopefully related posts:

Great Wall of China, Part 2 – Simatai, China Great Wall of China, Part 1 – Mutianyu, China The slowest person at Mutianyu Great Wall The Great Wall under water – Xifengkou, Hebei Province