Vast Chinese Walls Series: Ten-Thousand Li

Oh vast soaring walls of ten-thousand li

Bold dragons defending Cathay bravely

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Surveys this century document a series of vast walls in North China stretching in excess of 21,000 kilometers in total length. This is a distance more than 4.5 times longer than America coast to coast! Of this total, the most famous are the 8,851 kilometers (40%) built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). All of these walls are collectively known as Wanli Changcheng, 万里长城, the direct translation being 10,000 Li Long Wall. A Li today is 500 meters. Its exact length in times gone by varied.

We hiked forty hard kilometers on the Ming Walls plus many more climbing up to and down from the Walls themselves. It was arduous, at times scary, and continuously thrilling. There are spurs, loops, and branches from the main artery. There are sections that use the natural terrain as part of the defensive system such as impenetrable mountain peaks, cliffs, and rivers. These Walls collectively warrant the label, Great.