Jiayuguan, the final fortress on the Great Wall, was built in 1372 by the Ming Dynasty and is over 3000 miles from the eastern outpost of the wall (!). Surely this qualifies as one of the ancient wonders of the world!
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| One of the gates to the great fortress of Jiayuguan. Inside, the path turns several right-angle corners (to slow down invading horses) and has gates that could be lowered to trap invaders. | A view of the inner buildings of the fortress. | One of the reasons the wall is so well-preserved is that the clay was dug out of a riverbed (fewer weed seeds), steamed, then dried in the sun to kill weed seeds. Finally it was washed in a salt and alkaline solution to further discourage weeds. | A view along a restored section of the Wall. I climbed up less than a kilometer of the wall, but my calves were sore for days afterwards! I can't imagine hauling heavy loads of clay up the mountain to build the wall. |
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| Me at the wall. | The travelingtiger at the Wall. | Scenery from the top of the Wall. It's a beautiful, beautiful area. | Another view from the top of the Wall. (Photo courtesy Mike Magin.) |
