Things To Do in Jiayu Guan
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Jiayu Guan Attractions
Gliding Heaven -- Gliding above Jiayu Guan Fort, the Overhanging Great Wall and the surrounding snowcapped peaks provide an unforgettable experience. Start at the Jiayu Guan Gliding Base (Huaxiang Jidi; tel. 0937/638-1070), located inside the old airport, 25km (16 miles) northeast of town. The gliding season is from mid-June to September, when the warm ascending airflow of the Jiayu Guan basin can lift gliders nearly 6km (4 miles) up. If you don't have a gliding license, training courses are available, but you'll need a very good translator. Basic and overpriced accommodations are available at the base. Whatever your arrangements, make them at least a month in advance, and be sure to get them in writing. It may be best to proceed through CITS.
- Landmark
First Beacon Tower
Seven kilometers (4 1/3 miles) away from the Fort lies this fairly untouched crumbling bit of the Great Wall and watchtower. The Taolai River that runs through a steep gorge near the tower makes for a dramatic sunset photo op. On the way you'll notice that, true to form, history… - Landmark
Jiayu Guan Chenglou
The Ming dynasty's rebuilt section of the Great Wall is still most people's image of China, and this final outpost, surrounded by desert and backed by snowcapped mountains, is the best-preserved and most spectacular of the lot. First built in 1372, then expanded and reinforced in… - Landmark
Overhanging Great Wall
This dramatic desert section of the Great Wall snakes its way up into the desolate Hei Shan (Black Mountains). Originally built in 1539, it was restored in 1988 and is supposedly as far northwest as the Wall goes, but there are actually sites farther west near Dunhuang. Two sections… - Cemetery
Wei-Jin Tombs
Twenty kilometers (12 miles) northeast of Jiayu Guan, this is sometimes misleadingly called the Dixia Hualang (Underground Art Gallery). The thousands of tombs in this area date from the Wei (220-65 B.C.) and Jin (A.D. 265-420), but only one is open to the public. You will see the…
Jiayu Guan Shopping
Much of the stock in the Baihuo Dalou, on the northeast side of the main roundabout, looks like it hasn't moved since the Cultural Revolution. This is a chance to pick up Seagull cameras, mahjong tiles, and chess sets at 1960s prices. For a supermarket try the Xinhua Chaoshi, near the Xibei Jiudian on Xinhua Nan Lu.
