This is the worst guesthouse I've ever stayed in, bar none, there's no comparison. The first two reviews are so positive, the scores so high—it's laughable! The shared bathrooms are something I always check when choosing a hotel, but this one had nothing listed in the facilities section, not even in the room itself. There's a hidden dropdown menu; you have to click it to find the information—a trap! Opened in 2024, it's actually very old and worn. The old-fashioned wallpaper is blackish-yellow and peeling in many places, and the walls inside are also peeling. The CRT TV is decades old. The blankets are thin and stiff; the mattress pad is practically nonexistent. The sheets and covers are all blackish-brown, clearly old and unwashed. Hygiene is appalling. The headboard and chairs are covered in dust; even after wiping them twice with a wet wipe, they're still blackish-gray. The kettle has a thick layer of limescale; after cleaning, the water turns milky white. The shared bathroom smells bad, and the sink mirror is heavily stained. It feels like a guesthouse run by an unhygienic farmhouse with some old stuff. I wanted to cancel as soon as I saw the place, but the landlady agreed while her wife disagreed. She said she'd be charged more than a day's fee for a two-day stay, and wouldn't even change it to one day; she was adamant. I was too tired to argue anymore, and the platform even helped negotiate for a long time. The landlady said someone had previously cancelled their stay even though they were willing to pay extra. My 80-year-old mother couldn't bear to suffer such a loss, so we had no choice but to stay for two days, both sleepless and exhausted. The location is near the South Station, in a small village. From the South Station, walk to the end of the road on your right; there's a huge billboard behind it. Turn right after the billboard, walk about 100 meters along a path covered in sheep droppings, and you'll reach the village. The area around the South Station is undeveloped; there are no restaurants or supermarkets. For food delivery, there's a mala tang (spicy hot pot) place 3.3 kilometers away; other options are in the city, about 10 kilometers away. About 500 meters away, next to the village committee, there's a guesthouse that can cook. The rooms there are more decent, with heating and a small supermarket; it seems like a better place to stay. It's located on the left side of the road opposite the station, I think it's called Hekou Village. The fireplace in the room was quite warm when it first started burning, but it got cold in the middle of the night. I woke up twice from the cold on the first night, and on the second night I slept in a fleece-lined sweater and pants. Most importantly, there was no soundproofing. The sounds of zippers, rustling plastic bags, lighters, and even snoring were all clearly audible. At 2 AM, I was woken up by voices from one of the rooms; the noise wasn't loud, but it kept going on and on, so I had to use earplugs. You could say one thing and everyone could hear you. There was no heater on the way to the bathroom, so it was colder than the room. On the first night, my mom didn't wear extra layers to the bathroom, and her feet cramped from the cold when she came back. But some people seemed to adapt. One man came out of the shower wearing only tight red underwear, which surprised me, and I'm grateful he was so discreet. In short, this environment, this attitude, and this insincere review deserve a zero. I'm leaving a small token for the landlady, who's over 60. She kept rambling on about how honest and kind her family is, trying to persuade us to hire her car to go to the fortress, saying that taking the bus to the scenic area is inconvenient and time-consuming, and that her place is warm while the guesthouse across the street, "Home in the Countryside," is colder (I originally wanted to go there when the landlady agreed to let us check out; it's only 10 yuan more and has a private bathroom). She offered to take us to the station several times (we didn't dare sit on the two small round stools on her tricycle), and said she'd plug in an electric blanket if we were cold (we searched for ages and found there wasn't one). But overall, she was very hospitable, and even gave us bottled water when we asked. Tip: Public transportation in Jiayuguan is very convenient. From the South Railway Station, take bus 10 and transfer to bus 9 or 12 and transfer to bus 4 to reach the fortress (the situation changes after November 15th during the off-season). Then buy a 20 yuan shuttle bus ticket to the First Beacon Tower and the Overhanging Great Wall; the total fare is only 24 yuan, and a day is plenty of time, even more. The transfer at the scenic area is in the city, so staying in the city is a wiser choice. Alternatively, Jiayuguan Station is also an option, as the South Station is too inconvenient.
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