Total Length of the Great Wall

Introduction of Total Length of the Great Wall
According to records put down in Chinese literature, as many as 20 principalities and dynasties took part in reconstructing the Great Wall. If we add the length of the wall built in each dynasty, the total comes to over 50,000 km. We find ruined sites of Great Wall in China's northwest, northeast, various provinces of North China as well as the vast stretch of land lying between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. In inner Mongolia the Great Wall attains a length of 15,000 km (30,000 li) in all.

The project of the long wall of 10,000 li certainly entails tremendous amount of construction work. According to a rough estimate of the bricks, stones, cubic meters of earth used to make the wall during the Ming Dynasty, it is said that with the material we can build a wall --one meter thick and five meters high, to encircle the earth once and we still haven't exhausted it yet. If the same amount of material is used to pave a highway five meters wide and 35 cm thick, it can encircle the earth three or four times. If we add the total length of the Great Wall built in successive Chinese dynasties, it can encircle the earth 30 - 40 times!