Shuidonggou

Chinese: 水洞沟
Pinyin: Shuǐ dòng gōu
English: Water cave gully
Coordinates: 38°18'27"N 106°29'12"E

This is about 19 kilometers from Yinchuan's bus station. Here's its English web site: http://shuidonggou.com/en/

Entrance ticket is 60 kuai but then you have to pay another 50 kuai for transport (meaning you also go on a tour). I'd highly advise anyone to not pay for the transport because you get rushed through the areas and don't have your own time to do what you want (you also go to Hongshanbao, the Great Wall fort). The whole tour is about two and a half hours, and that's just not enough time to enjoy Shuidonggou and Hongshanbao.

Considering the distance between Shuidonggou and Hongshanbao, I'd suggest spending a day here and not having anything else planned.

Going towards Shuidonggou from Yinchuan, you can see this on your right.

As it turns out, the road was built right next to Shuidonggou.

Inside the park now. Apparently there was a temple here until the 80s. Wonder why it got torn down, because there's nothing there now.

In October 1935, Mao Zedong wrote some words about the ruins of the Wall. I think that's what it says? Someone correct me if I'm mistaken.

Transcribed below, including mistakes:
"The Great Wall of Ming Dynasty was built on the basis of the Great Wall of Sui Dynasty to defend the invasion of Tatar, Waci and other tribes. The Great Wall was built in loess and the water was from Qingshui River and the Yellow River, rendering a width of 6*8 m and existing height of 3*6 m. The Great Wall appears in purple after completion, it is also named as "purple fortress"."

The tour guide did confirm this section was renovated, and recently finished. Thankfully the whole wall doesn't look like this.

Transcribed: "Beacon Fire Station – It is also called Beacon Smoke Station or Mound Watch Tower. It is made by ramming loess. Guarded by troops during peacetime, it was used to pass the military movements information during the wartime. According to the Ningxia Annals, there were 615 beacon fire stations during the early Ming Dynasty and this Beacon Fire Station is one of them. As it was very effective in detecting enemies movements, this beacon fire station was named as "The Suppressor Mound". It is also one of the eight beacon fire stations in Hongshan Fort."

Can you see when the color shifts and doesn't look smooth anymore? That's when the renovation ended.

It just stretches on into the grey horizon.

Unrenovated.

Back on the road again.

Eventually the Wall winds away from the road until you can no longer see it.