August 2009

---

This kind lady offered me a noodle meal, but I was so afraid that it would get too hot for walking, so I had to thank her no.

Morning commute.

I have concidered several times bringing a dog along with me for company. Practically though this would be hard both in the intense heat in the desert, and during the cold winter. I think the dog to the right would have given me great company. Don’t you agree?

Ming Dynasty Great Wall East of Zhongwei. Close to this point, it got so hilly that I had to turn back. The wall was made of stone, which is quite rare in this area. It was a very hot and unforgiving day.

The Great Wall almost covered by sand in the desert.

This man and his family invited me in at the hottest time of day and offered me a water melon. I was really grateful for the rest in shade, and for the tasty water melon!

This would have been a perfect camping site, but I had only walked an hour that day.

This cross section shows how sand over the Centuries has been swept up against Great Wall – hiding it at the same time as conserving it.

It had been raining all night. The scorpion was hiding under my tent.

The Great Wall and wind mills at sunrise.

North of Zhongwei the wall was at least 6 metres high. It’s effective height was more than doubled because it was built close to the edge of a river bed.

I don’t easily get homesick. But when I see planes flying high in the sky, I start thinking about the day that I will return to Norway.

The Great Wall close to San Guan Kou. It is easy to see how the Helan mountains in the background provided a natural barrier against enemies.

A shopping mall in Yinchuan. It is as modern as any mall I've seen.

More than 30% of Ningxia's population is Muslim. It is called China's Muslim by some.

A mystic Xixia tomb. The Xixia Dynasty existed between 1038 and 1227 when it was conquered and destroyed by the Mongols.

The moon is my calender on this trip. I expect to be walking for about twelve months.

I counted more than 150 mosqitoes just outside the mesh at the top of the tent.

The Ningxia plain has large irrigation channels that go on for miles. A pump transports water to a smaller channel to supply water for the crops.

These workers had their break from one to three o'clock at the hottest point of the day. I joined them for an hour, taking refuge from the sun

Farmers on the Ningxia plain with the Helan mountains in the background. These mountains were a natural barrier against the enemy.

This statue was carved out of stone. It was very big.

First I scared these dogs by walking close to them while they were sleeping. I didn't see them. Then they scared me… Luckily they were tied securely

Here the Great Wall has been rebuilt in a style completely different to the original. It was part of the entrance to a cemetery. Original to the left.

As long as you know the Chinese character for the place you are going, you can get around.

When I liftet the ground sheet of the tent, this scorpion appeared. It headed straight for me with it's stinging tail ready.

---