Chasing the Tail of the Dragon

REPRIEVE!!  Before another night of camping we get a day in civilization.  Our bathing and indoor plumbing oasis is a town  called Zhangye.  According to the billboards along the road this is the #1 tourist city in China.  Lonely Planet refers to it as “a pleasant if not slightly bland town with China’s largest sleeping Buddha.”  There was no Starbucks but there was a Cartier watch store. (Why high end watches should take precedence over a good latte is beyond reason and borders on a human rights violation.)  That said, this town did have some wonderful little surprises such as the pug wearing jingle bells and an elderly calligrapher who practises his craft using a giant paint bush made of a sponge and mop handle which he dips in water and paints temporary characters onto the park pavement.  Look – you had to be there to appreciate the jingle bell pug and the calligrapher but trust me on this one – it was pretty cool.

Heading out to our next camp site we made a stop at the Jiayuguan Fort otherwise know as  “Impregnable Defile Under Heaven.”   This was the last major strong hold of the great wall and where exiled poets, criminals and  political dissidents would be sent off into the desert to die or start a coffee bar and book store.  The fort has been heavily renovated and has a rather sad Disneyesque vibe to it.  Photos of the area taken 100 years ago show an ageing and crumpled wall majestic in appearance surrounded by a small village (hutong).  Sadly all that has been torn down for the rebuild as a tourist attraction.  Where emperors, soldiers and travellers once mingled are now rather poor facsimiles in bad costumes attempting to recreate Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon in the relentless heat.  Add a few rather sad horses in fancy dress and a weary camel and you get the idea.  Redeeming feature – BEST PEACH ICE TEA EVER!!! 

After the fort we headed for the Dragon’s Tail – the last length of the Great Wall.  This too has been heavily restored and there is even a ski jump for use in the winter (hey! It is not entirely beyond the realm of reality that Marco Polo and Ghangis Khan were epic boarders back in the day so lets keep an open mind here.)  It’s a good hike up to the summit where you get a fantastic view of one of China’s largest military bases and snow covered peaks in the distance.  Nothing says China like hiking the wall in under-fit agony as legions of Chinese soldiers jog pass you effortlessly.  These were definitely NOT the doughy Asians.   

And now is the part where we resume camping.  For tonight it is a lovely spot right at the wall. A spot that as we pulled in Simon (our driver) exclaimed , “Yes there are a few rocks but no worries, just kick those aside and get your tents up.”    I would describe this site as Mars on Steroids with a tad more than a “few rocks” to move to pitch a tent.  But we were all pretty desperate to get out of the truck at this point since it had become infested with flies and was turning into the Amityville Horror of Overlanding (no dripping blood on the walls but if Keith had to deal with ONE MORE FLY it would have come to that pretty quickly.)  That night with the wall and 3 Mile Island in the background, we lit another coffin fire and revelled in our joy at being alive and not infested with maggots.

Momentary penmanship

Jiayuguan Fort Kung Fu Extravaganza

The Eye of the Dragon

It's the end of the wall as we know it and I feel fine! (But not for long...)

Jingle Pug says "How YOU doin'?"

You too can look this sick in a tent by the Wall on the Silk Road 

The Dragon's Tail

Just a mere shadow of myself on a once great wall

Feel free to caption this as you wish - words defy me...