How Long is the Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is one of the great wonders. As the most famous and incredible tourist attraction, the Great Wall of China is known for its structure, historical significance, and length. The Great Wall of China not only symbolizes the vast territory and the strong national power, but also represents the grittiness of the Chinese nation.

How Long is the Great Wall of China

The Ten Thousand Li Great Wall, the Great Wall of China, is well-known, but very few people know how many miles the Great Wall of China is. 10,000 li is equivalent to 5,000 km (3,100 miles). Its true length is more than 10,000 miles. The Great Wall of China was measured by the National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) in 2012. The Great Wall of China's length is 21,196.18 kilometers (13,171 miles).

At first, the Great Wall was built as a separation wall. The northern limits of ancient China were defined by the Great Wall, which meanders for nearly 5000km (3,100 miles) from east to west. It stretches across 15 cities and provinces, including Liaoning, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Heilongjiang, Xinjiang... Owing to traversing different geographical conditions in China, the Great Wall has various architectural styles and was built with other building materials. It was categorized into the Mountain Great Wall, the Desert Great Wall, and the Grassland Great Wall, which perform various functions.

The total length of the Great Wall of China is approximately equal to the distance from Cape Murchison in North America to the southernmost point of South America, Cape Froward. If compared with the Berlin Wall, the Great Wall of China is 137 times longer than the former. All sections of the Great Wall in China are 1.66 times longer than the average diameter of the Earth, which is nearly the same as the equator.

Great Wall of China Lengths in Different Dynasties

The Great Wall was not built by a single dynasty. There are more than 20 princely states and feudal dynasties involved in the construction of the Great Wall of China. According to historical records, the Great Wall of China was originally constructed during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-221 BC) in order to protect the country from the invasion of northern nomadic people.

Later, Emperor Qin connected those walls after unifying China and established the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). The Great Wall of the Qin dynasty and the sections of the earlier dynasties span over 10,000 km (6,213.7 miles). After that, the Great Wall was also reconstructed by many Chinese dynasties. The most famous section of the Wall belongs to the Ming Great Wall, built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

The Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty passes through 8,851.8 kilometers (5,500 miles), which was constructed over more than 200 years. The Ming Great Wall covers the best-preserved sections, taking up 40% length of the whole Great Wall, stretching from Tiger Mountain in Liaoning in the east and ending at Jiayuguan in Gansu in the west.

How Long Does it Take to Walk the Great Wall of China?

The name, the Great Wall, which we constantly talk about, refers to the Ming Great Wall. As we all know, the length of the Great Wall, it hard to finish the Great Wall trip in a short time. But someone had done it once.

40 years ago, Dong Yaohui (an engineer 40 years ago and the vice president of China Great Wall Society now) and his companions spent 508 days (nearly a year and a half) walking and recording the views and conditions of the Ming Great Wall. From Shanhaiguan in the east to Jiayuguan in the west, they made the first complete footprints of human beings in the Great Wall. As the first person who trekked the Wall on foot, he was known as the Son of the Great Wall and Encyclopedia of the Great Wall.

For now, travelers do not have to walk for so long; a 2 or 3-hour hiking tour on the Mutianyu Great Wall (one of the well-preserved sections of the Great Wall) is a good choice. After the hike, tourists can even slide on the Mutianyu Great Wall toboggan. A 2-3 hour sightseeing tour on the Badaling Great Wall could be a nice alternative, which also belongs to one of the most popular tourist attractions.

How to Travel the Great Wall of China

The most representative Great Wall is Badaling, which can be the first choice for visitors who have never been there before. However, Badaling is welcomed by many visitors, which will cause high traffic during the holiday periods. Therefore, it is recommended to visit Mutianyu around the holiday season. In that way, you can have a more comfortable trip and enjoy better views.

The Shuiguan Great Wall has fewer crowds, which can be a better choice for those who want to avoid the multitude of people. It is famous for its steep terrain, considered the paradise of adventure-goers. The most convenient way to the Shuiguan Great Wall is by driving, or visitors can take bus 919.

Most well-preserved and popular parts of the Great Wall sit near Beijing, taking about 1-3 hours to drive. And the best time to visit the Great Wall of China could be spring and autumn (from March to October).

How to Measure the Total Length of the Great Wall of China?

Great Wall of China is composed of many sections that were constructed over thousands of years. Some parts are perfectly preserved and accessible to visitors, while some sections have been destroyed over time. When it comes to How Long the Great Wall of China is, the way of measurement is the point.

The Great Wall stretches over 15 provinces and cities. It needs thousands of staff from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the National Bureau of Surveying and Mapping to be involved in the measurement. They spend three and a half years trekking and investigating. Tens of thousands of data, photos, and videos were recorded and analyzed. After analyzing tons of evidence, experts release the final result.

According to the results of the Great Wall Resources Survey released in 2012, it draws the conclusion that the Great Wall, including the Ming Great Wall and section built in earlier dynasties, covers 21,196.18 km (13,170.6 miles), which is considered the first time that China systematically measured the actual length of the Great Wall. But this total length does not include the sections that have been destroyed before.

As the most impressive and marvelous man-made engineering, the Great Wall keeps attracting tons of tourists from home and abroad to glimpse its unique charm. Besides, it witnessed the development of the Chinese nation, which carries a lot of cultural and historical meanings. Many well-preserved sections, which are rebuilt and still open to the public, are waiting for your arrival.