How Long is the Great Wall of China

Listed into the World Culture Heritage on December 1987, the Great Wall of China also becomes one of the Seven Wonders in the world. As one of the great wonders made by ancient Chinese people, the Great Wall of China witnesses the long Chinese history and its culture. But how long is it? This maybe is a difficult question since in China’s long history it was not built by one dynasty only.

Some Relative Surveys

On April 18, 2009, State Cultural Relics Bureau of China and Chinese State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping together stated publicly, ‘the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Great Wall starts from Hushan of Liaoning Province in the east and ends at Jiayuguan of Gansu Province in the west. From east to west, the wall passes 156 Counties of Liaoning Province, Hebei Province, Tianjin, Beijing, Shanxi Province, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi Province, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Gansu Province, and Qinghai Province, totally ten provinces or cities. Going through the deep ditch 359.7 kilometers and the natural barrier 2,232.5 kilometers, and Its total length is 8,851.8 kilometers’. Without any doubt it is the largest manmade project and cultural relic in the world.
　　　
On June 5, 2012, another statement by the State Cultural Relics Bureau of China shows the public some other more information about the length of the Great Wall, ‘after nearly five years’ survey, the total length of the Great Wall in all past dynasties is 21,196.18 kilometers, distributing over 15 cities or provinces (besides the ones mentioned in the above paragraph, it added Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shandong, and Henan etc.). This length includes 43,721 cultural relics of the Great Wall, such as the Wall Body, Moat, Fort, Beacon Tower etc’. This is the first scientific and systematic measure on the length of the Great Wall from all past dynasties, for example, the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC) and the Han Dynasty (202BC-220), besides the Ming Great Wall.

Starting and Terminal Point

Based on the record of historical document, in history, there are three dynasties built the Great Wall surpassing 5,000 kilometers. First is the one built in Qin Dynasty, starting from Linzhao in the west and ending at Liaodong in the east. Second one started from Hexi Passage in the west and Liaodong in the east built in Han Dynasty. And the last one, no doubt, is the Ming Great Wall.

The time is too long to preserve the original wall as well as before and most of the earlier parts become incomplete. The most well-preserved one is the Great Wall of Ming Dynasty, which is composed of 7,062 towers for looking out, 723 beacon towers, 3,357 wall platforms and 1,026 some other left ruins. Hence, as long as talking about the Great Wall of China, it generally refers to the Ming Great Wall, with a length of 8,851.8 kilometers, and the wall in Beijing section is more than 550 kilometers long.

Take a Tour to See Great Wall Now:
4 Days Beijing Classic Panoramic View Tour
8 Days Beijing Xi'an Shanghai Classic Tour
13 Days Best of China: Beijing, Xi'an, Tibet, Shanghai
More China Package Tours and China City Tours