Jiayuguan
Introduction
Jiayuguan is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Gansu province, named after the nearby Jiayu Pass. That pass is the largest and most intact pass of the Great Wall of China, and it is the reason the city exists as a destination at all — the settlement grew up around the fortification rather than the other way around.
The city sits in a dry, sparsely settled corner of the province, and its built-up area now runs together with the Suzhou urban district of neighbouring Jiuquan City, so the two form a single continuous urban stretch. Plan on Jiayuguan as a base for the pass and the surrounding desert-edge landscape, and expect the neighbouring district to be part of the same built-up area you move through.
Before you go
Jiayuguan sits at the western end of the Great Wall, where it guarded the boundary of Ming Dynasty China, and is known as the 'mouth of China'. The narrow river passage heading southeast from the city is the Hexi Corridor, nicknamed the 'throat of China'.
Keep this geography in mind as you plan: you are heading to a frontier settlement defined by its position on the edge of the old empire, with the corridor running away to the southeast.
Getting there
Jiayuguan Airport (JGN) sits 11 km northeast of the city centre and receives flights from Xian, Lanzhou, Beijing, Dunhuang, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai–Hongqiao, Yantai and Yinchuan.
Two railway stations serve the city. Jiayuguan South Railway Station, southeast of town in a new development area, handles D-type trains to Lanzhou and Urumqi; from there, Lanzhou takes about 4 hours, Xining about 3, Zhangye about 1, Turpan about 5, Urumqi about 6, Liuyuan about 2, Dunhuang about 2.5 and Xian about 9. Jiayuguan Railway Station, on Yingbin West Road southwest of the centre, serves slower services: Beijing takes about 33 hours, Chengdu about 26, Shanghai about 28, Turpan about 17, Urumqi about 13–18, Xian about 20, Lanzhou about 9 and Dunhuang about 5.
Long-distance buses leave from the station at the corner of Jingtie West Road and Shengli South Road. Dunhuang takes about 5–8 hours, Lanzhou about 14, Zhangye about 4–5 and Jiuquan about 20 minutes; Hami takes about 11 hours and Urumqi about 15 hours, with the Urumqi service running only on Thursdays. A night bus also runs to Xining.
Getting around
Jiayuguan is compact, and the city bus is the cheapest way to cover the centre. A single ticket costs ¥1, and route maps are posted at every bus stop on the reverse side of the information board — in Chinese only, but the route numbers are legible. Bus 1 runs south from the centre of town to Jiayuguan Railway Station. Bus 4 leaves that station, passes through town and continues north to Jiayuguan Fort, which makes it the direct option for the Jiayu Pass cultural relics scenic spot, roughly 20 minutes away. Bus 10 connects Jiayuguan South Railway Station with the north of the city. Check which station your train ticket uses before you arrange onward transport, since the two sit in different parts of the city.
Taxis are metered and start at ¥6 for the first 2 kilometres; within the city a typical fare stays under ¥15, including trips to Jiayuguan Railway Station, while Jiayuguan South Railway Station costs a little more. Drivers waiting at train stations, the airport and scenic spots may try to overcharge, so confirm the meter or agree the fare before setting off, and if you want to hire a driver for a round of sights, ask several before settling on a price. The outlying Great Wall sites — the Great Wall first trick, the overhanging Great Wall and the Wei and Jin Dynasty cultural scenic area — are not walkable from the centre and are best reached on a one-day tour or by taxi, with a round trip commonly quoted at around ¥50 and roughly 30 minutes of driving each way. The city centre itself is small enough to cover on foot for everyday needs, but plan on a bus, taxi or tour for sightseeing. From Jiayuguan Airport, northeast of the centre, a taxi is the straightforward transfer.
Where to stay
Most of Jiayuguan's accommodation clusters downtown, around Xiongguan Square and along the main commercial streets, with a handful of options near Yingbin Lake and the railway station. At the top end, the Great Wall Hotel on Jianshe West Road and the Jiayuguan Hotel on Xinhua North Road are the established full-service choices, while the Huili Business Hotel west of Xiongguan Square offers rooms with air conditioning, digital TVs, computers and broadband access. The Jiayuguan Yuda Hotel sits near Yingbin Lake, a short drive from the railway station, and provides standard rooms with air conditioning, international direct dial phones and mini bars.
For something cheaper, look to the budget places around the junctions of Lanxin Road with Shengli and Xinhua roads, near the long-distance bus station and the city hospital bus stops. Jinye Binguan and a nearby unnamed hotel offer simple twins, with or without private bathrooms, and Xin Yi near the market does doubles with bathrooms. Mid-range travellers can consider the Xiongguan Restaurant on Xinhua Central Road; if you book the Qingnian Hotel on Jianshe West Road, confirm your rate carefully, as guests have reported being quoted one price at check-in and charged another on departure.
Food & drink
For street food, head to the Night Market (FuQiang Market) in the north corner of the city. It's easy to find: walk north along Xinhua South Road, the main street, and it's on your right after the crossing where the Jiayuguan Hotel is. You'll find vendors selling food on the street along with plenty of little street restaurants, and grilled lamb skewers are the thing to order. For a sit-down meal, Jinhua Jiulou on Xinhua South Road, opposite the Jiaotong Hotel behind the little park, serves great food, though the staff don't speak English. If you want a bakery-cafe with free, fast Wi-Fi, Aili-Bakery on Xinhua Zhonglu, 100–200m south-east of the roundabout on the east side of the road, fits the bill — the pastry is fine, but don't expect much from the coffee.What to see and do
The Jiayuguan tourist area bundles three separate sights, and a single ticket covers all of them. Start with Jiayu Pass, the trapezoid-shaped fortress that marks the western terminus of the Ming Great Wall and looks out over the Gobi Desert; much of it is modern and rebuilt, with camel rides and archery stalls on hand, and for many travellers the view toward the mountains is the highlight. You can reach it on bus no. 4 to the last stop north of town, and the walk from the gate to the entrance is only a few minutes, so the electric cart and bicycle rentals are unnecessary. Inside the pass area, the Great Wall Museum is devoted entirely to the wall and needs no separate ticket. Look out for the man known as the "Chief of The Pass", who will pose for a free photo or, for a small fee, write you a handwritten "passport" in the style of the old frontier documents. From the pass you can head about 7 km east to the Overhanging Wall, either walking along the road in roughly an hour or taking a taxi. It comes in two sections about 100 m apart: the first has a fort and two towers, the second has two towers and no fort but a higher climb, and the views from the top give a strong sense of how remote this frontier once was. Further out, the First Pier of the Great Wall is the southernmost point of the western wall and the westernmost pier of the Ming dynasty, set among dramatic natural scenery where Great Wall culture meets the old Silk Road. In town, the Wei Jin Tombs hold finely painted tombs of the Wei and Jin periods, though only one tomb, with three small rooms, is open to the public and photography inside is forbidden; a small museum at the compound entrance displays coffins, and a round trip from the city takes an hour and a half to two hours. The Jiayuguan City Museum on Wu Yi South Road, reachable on bus no. 3, 5 or 9, is free and closed on Mondays except when Monday is a public holiday.Three days in Jiayuguan
Day one: Start with the reason you came — Jiayu Pass, the western anchor of the Great Wall and the fortification that gave the city its name. Walk the ramparts and look out over the Hexi Corridor, the narrow strip of Gansu that funnelled travellers and troops between Ming Dynasty China and the deserts beyond. The scale of the place rewards a slow visit rather than a quick circuit.
Day two: Use Jiayuguan as a base for the surrounding corridor. Jiuquan City and its urban neighbour Jiuquan lie within easy reach, and the oasis towns of the Hexi Corridor — Zhangye to the east, Dunhuang to the west — are the classic onward stops. If you are continuing by rail, Jiayuguan Railway Station and Jiayuguan South Railway Station connect you toward Lanzhou, Xian, Urumqi, Turpan, Hami, Liuyuan and Xining.
Day three: Give the city itself a morning. The main streets — Yingbin West Road, Jingtie West Road and Shengli South Road — are where everyday Jiayuguan happens, and a wander there rounds out the trip before you fly out from Jiayuguan Airport (JGN) or head on to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Chengdu, Yantai, Yinchuan or Suzhou via connecting hubs such as Hongqiao.