Since my last postcard from Dunhuang China the winds have been blowing me eastward. From Dunhuang I bussed over to Jiayuguan to take a peek at what is usually represented as the western end of the Great Wall. Scholars differ on their evaluation of the place, as there are many sets of walls from different Dynasties. However, there is no denying the Jiayuguan Pass Fortress is a remarkable military statement. After dumping my bag for the night I dashed over to the monument. Inside I walked around the top of the walls and explored the maze of passageways linking all of the various battlements and structures within the fortified walls.  

No other Occidental tourist had chosen to visit the monument the hour of my own tour. In fact, during my entire 24-hour stay in Jiayuguan I seemed to be the only foreigner in town. Certainly people treated me like an honored oddity... someone that needed their mothering. When I made it known I wanted to visit the Fortress that first day, the front office manager at my Blue Dreams Hotel haggled with the taxi driver who initially had asked 40 RMB for a round-trip lift. Manager and driver settled on 30 RMB for the ride. With no restaurant in the hotel, the bellboy walked me down the street to a classy establishment where I enjoyed a 30 RMB chicken dinner (full of sharp bone splinters!). The location of a WongBa became a matter for every member of the hotel staff. Finally, the manager directed me to go with their driver and security guard. They drove me to an unmarked building where we found a large dark second floor room full of computer terminals. They had even arranged for the Wangba operator to call the hotel for a ride back when finished, though I ended up taking the convenient and cheap (always 1 RMB anywhere in China!) #1 city bus back. Internet Explorer had been partially disabled making it impossible to delete personal information after a session. That limited my use to Google searches. 

My just adequate $25 hotel room featured a shower-head in the middle of the bathroom, making all but morning showers impractical... and chilly with no hot water! Everyone from the bus drivers and conductors to hotel reception and security staff treated me with exceptional and thoughtful kindness in this little out of the way town. One night in the hotel with only cold water and no restaurant convinced me cut my stay to a single night. The next morning I walked over to a 4 star hotel across from the People's Square for breakfast. The front office manager who spoke a bit of English came to my table to discuss the possibility of my staying at their hotel and announced I could pay the waiter "fifty RMB" when finished with my breakfast. The bill arrived showing fifteen RMB. That turned out to be the correct price.  

Back in the lobby several English struggling staff cornered me for some language lessons. In addition to the pronunciation differences between "fifty" and "fifteen" we worked on the really quite subtle pronunciation differences among "lake," "look," "lock," "lick," "leak," "like," "Luke," etc. While correcting English I learned a good deal about the history and living conditions in Jaiyuguan. The area is famous as a steel production and construction industry town, though the invisible industrial area is well away from the city center. The Hotel's General Manager arrived on the scene and to my surprise approved the impromptu language lessons as I waited with complimentary tea for my train departure time. "Lake" got into the conversation when one of the staff tried to explain how the government had been making artificial lakes and fountains around the city to alleviate the hot, arid conditions in this desert oasis.  

Though tempted to linger a while longer in this hospitable town, I grabbed a train for Zhang Ye to see the famous Giant Reclining Buddha. Photos taken while visiting Jiayuguan are here.

Until the next postcard,

Peace,