99 Photos of Bricks in the Wall

• Posted on noflytri
• in China, Photoblog, Top Experiences
• on October 29, 2014
• 4 Comments.

Alternative titles considered were, All Along the Watchtowers, Another Brick in the Wall, and, stretching it a bit I’ll admit, Wall-E…

The Great Wall spans thousands of kilometers and has a history that spans over a 1,000 years. I’ve been lucky enough to visit several bits of it, including the Eastern and Western ends of what most people think of when they think of the “Great Wall” which is the one built by the Ming Dynasty in the 14-16th Centuries.

As you can see from the photos, the construction and location of the wall, together with the degrees to which they have been reconstructed varies greatly!

The most impressive part of the wall I saw was at Jingshangling, which is doable as an easy day-trip from Beijing. Here is a post on how you can do this for cheap, avoiding expensive tours offered by hostels. How to get to Jinshanling.

If possible, visit the wall on weekdays, and avoid national holidays. October, as Autumn begins (excluding the national week holiday 1-7 October) is a great time to visit, crowds are down and the leaves are changing colour. Walks can’t get much better than when they combine walking along a world famous monument crunching leaves underfoot at the same time!

My other Great Wall trips came at the Eastern and Western ends of the wall. Visiting the Western End at Jiayuguan was a no-brainer – it was on my route across China from Kashgar to Beijing.

And this believe it or not is the Westernmost point of the Great Wall, a little way away from Jiayuguan Fort where it meets a steep valley which acts as a natural barrier

Much older sections of Wall in the Western deserts of China

Old fort

Western section of wall with Roger Ward, who never reads travel blogs, so I will take the opportunity to say he annoys me…

Western section of wall

The gates into China

Fort at Jiayuguan Pass

All along the watchtowers…

Seeing the Eastern end was more of an indulgance. At Shanhaiguan the Wall meets the sea, and to be honest its somewhat underwealming, but makes up for this with few tourists, and after Beijing it was fun to play “the only foreigner in town” game again.

“The First Pass Under Heaven” The sign on the tower leading out of Shanhaiguan town to the “barbarian” side of the wall

The First Pass Under Heaven

The “barbarian” side of the wall as runs from Shanhaiguan town to the moutains.

These photos were taken with my phone so the quality is not fantasti

Shanhaiguan Great Wall

Where the wall hits the sea…Known as the Old Dragons Head