Hi Michael,
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Yemenmike
Yes Chinook, I do need an explanation as to the "Ningxia Riddle",  , If you can give me the background and requirements, I can see what i can do for you, when I am in Yinchuan next. |
Ok.
Ningxia is _very_ well protected by GW. As you can see on our map (and on about every GW map at all) the Ningixa Wall forms "shoulders", from the west it guards over the Yellow River, building an absolutely safe border. It is hard to imagine that attackers could both cross the river sucessfully and surmount the wall. On the east shoulder we find about the highest walls and with very high towers every 300m, the wall being a double wall here.
The western flank of north Ninxia is well protected by the Helan Mountains, which are apparently impassable for an attacker, especially on horesbacks. The rare passes through the mountains are guarded by (very short) effective Wall sections. Member Kim has visisted one of them and as we can see this are no real dangers to the safeness of Ningxia.
What is the riddle? The north of Ningxia is right on a "highway" from Mongolia, an attacker just has to follow the Yellow River, even on both sides. So far we did not find any protective installation. The very narrow north, where the Helan Mountains meet the River there are some indications of Walls (can be seen on our map), but nothing compared to the rest of the Ningxia walls (wich are about the highest and best preserved walls of the entire GW). It is absolutely unthinkable that there had not been anything. Where have the forts/fortresses been? Wich was the main defense line (ore where there many)? Yinchuan itself had been one of the "Nine border garrisons of the Ming".
We have found GW maps which show these lines but we could not identify them on GE. Some maps (even in good books!) show wall on the Helan Mountain ridge what I personally don't believe.
The fortification of the Ordos had been built with such a high effort, nothing compared to that in the north of Ningxia.
Furthermore Ningxia has been a major invasion point where 1226/1267 AD the Mongols invaded and eradicated the Xixia empire (and killed about all of the Ningxia inhabitants). From there they conquered whole China and established the Yuan Dynasty. The strategic importance of Ningxia is evident. The impact of the Mongol invasion was the reason the Ming guys built walls with such a high effort we today see in the best preserved, highest and strongest walls (the Beijing walls!).
Even on the east bank of the Yellow River we did not find any fortification at all. Where did it go? We see walls at the Yellow River bank in areas which are about impossible to reach by horsemen and we do not see _anything_ here, were the Yellow River bank is absolutely flat and easy accessable from the Ordos.
Our map there still contains many wrong or even unclear findings, only some beacon towers will prove to be "real" findings. The walls found by us are either something else than GW or at least absolutely insufficient for the protection of this important weak point.
It is possible that there is information in local museums, it is _very_ probable that in Ningxia there are people who know the solution of this issue.
I myself have spent nights by searching for the defense lines on GE. In such intensively used farmland it is very hard for a wall to survive but there _must_ be still some indications left. We hope you can help us to find them.
-chinoook