The End of The End

Jiayuguan fort is usually touted as the official western end of the Ming Great Wall, but the wall in fact continues for a few more kilometres to a beacon tower in a spectacular location on the edge of a river gorge. So this morning Hua and I quietly rode there on Zorbee and Shandan to reach the very end of the end of the Great Wall. It was not as easy as we had anticipated as our path was almost immediately blocked by the railway – not a problem in itself as we have hopped across railway lines with the horses before, but this time there was a large fence, no doubt to deter wall followers such as ourselves. We eventually found a floodwater underpass with just enough head room to lead the horses through, and then a bridge to cross the new expressway which also cuts across the Wall. I am sure the Mongols never had such difficulties. Here are Hua and I having successfully reached our objective – you cannot see the gorge cliff which is behind the beacon tower.