Hiking from Tower No. 1 to Jiayuguan

The starting point for this hike is is the westernmost tower of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall at the Taolai River, known as tower number one. The ending point is the impressive Jiayuguan Fort.

Number One Tower could be considered the first or the last tower on the Ming Great Wall, depending on which direction you're going.

Number One Tower

The #1 Tower viewed from the Taolai River

Number One Tower

The wall extends for 6.5 kilometers or 4 miles from the Number One Tower to Jiayuguan Fort.

The entire hike is a straight line and nearly leve, but in fact slightly downhill. This does not mean it's not an interesting hike!

There are a few tourist attractions at the beginning of this hike that may be of interest to you.

Fence around the Number One Tower.

The Number One Tower is surrounded by a fence which also protects people from getting too close to the cliff at the river. While it is possible to find your way around this fence, there's not much point to it. Not only is it dangerous, it's also reckless. The tower is fragile and should not be damaged in any way. So you can get very close to it, take some photos, and begin your walk alongside the wall only about 15 meters or 45 feet from the tower.

Jiayuguan Great Wall

Which ever side of the wall you begin walking on, you will find many breaks in the wall where you can change over to the other side for a different view.

Breaks in the wall

At a distance of about 2.1 kilometers or 1.3 miles, you will reach tower number two. At this point you are about 1/3 of the way to Jiayuguan Fort.

Number Two Tower at Jiayuguan

Shortly after tower 2, you will reach a point where the G30 highway goes under the Great Wall.

Bridge over highway

After a further 2.1 kilometers or 1.3 miles, you will reach tower number three. At this point you are about 1/3 of the way to Jiayuguan Fort. Just after this third tower the wall is interrupted by some more roads. It continues again after some 165 meters or 540 feet.

Jiayuguan Great Wall

Along most of the route, sharp-eed hikers will notice evidence of two additional walls about 50 meters (about 150 feet) to the west (left) of the main wall. They extend for the entire distance between Tower No. 1 and Jiayuguan Fort.

Just before you reach the Jiayuguan Fort, the wall makes a slight left turn and goes up a hill and there is evidence of yet another older wall to the east (right).

Jiayuguan Fortress

Once you reach the fortress you will want to spend some time exploring and admiring it. See this page for more details on the fortress.

You can then continue along the wall beyond the fortress if you wish. It continues abut 6.5 kilometers or 4 miles to .Shiguanxia, passing several towers along the way, some connected to the wall and some standalone as well. The additional two walls to the west can also be observed for much of this distance.