The photo below is of terrain in the Badaling area of the Great Wall of China. It is the best preserved section of the Great Wall with easy access from Beijing about 50 miles (80 km) to the south. This portion of the wall is built in very hilly terrain. The wall follows the natural contours of the landscape going up one side of a mountain and down the other. No effort is made to level the slopes.

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The steepness was surprising on my first visit here in 2015. The highest point of the Badaling section is just less than 3,000 ft (about 900 m) in altitude. I thought I was in decent shape but Chinese of all ages, shapes and sizes zipped past me on the steeper climbs on a cold day in February. The haze in the photo is mostly pollution I think, and that didn’t help.

The portion of the Great Wall running through this area was built in 1504 during the Ming Dynasty. It commands a strategic position protecting the Juyongguan Pass to its south and the approach to Beijing.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing another Monochrome Monday.