The Overhanging Great Wall

That's the name given to what we saw the afternoon of the same day that we arrived, on our own —because it was still our free day—, after taking some taxis to get there, and experiencing the creative driving style of the local taxi drivers. And you should have seen the roads!.

What we visited was more similar to the typical postcards of the Great Wall, with the walls and towers climbing up the hills, following the rugged terrain. The name of Overhanging Great Wall really fits what you see, because it really looks like the walls might be floating on thin air. This part guarded the Shiguanxia pass.

There is a part of the wall in a small oasis from where one can start walking and following the walls climb up to two towers, the last of which marks the end of that section of the wall.


There is another stretch of the wall on the other side of the valley. Truly spectacular. At its feet, there are several buildings, the purpose of which we did not manage to discover, because we did not go there. There was a seven-floor pagoda and other temple-like buildings. But it could also be something made for tourists.


As I was saying, we walked up to the highest tower and from there we could see the oasis and behind it the desert plains that extended to the horizon.

To the right, we could follow the wall in the direction of the JiaYuGuan fort, which was still visible several km away. To the left, there was that other part of hanging wall, the pagoda and the rugged and very dry mountains. There was not a blade of green to be seen. I imagined what beautiful paths could be there waiting to be followed, as long as you had water and the Sun was not so high, of course. These desertic lands really have a special charm.


The wall was still made from that kind of adobe and it was wide enough for two people, but it followed precisely all the ups and dows of the terrain. You could see how the builders had used all the natural ledges or spurs to save material in building the wall. Very interesting to see close up.

Lots of culture. And a good sunbath. I ended up with a good suntan.