Those who enjoy watching historical Chinese dramas or reading martial arts novels are likely familiar with the term “ หมื่นลี้ ” — whether referring to a journey spanning หมื่นลี้, the Great Wall of China stretching หมื่นลี้, or being separated by thousands of ลี้. This often prompts the question: “ ลี้ ” is what kind of unit, and exactly how many kilometers does one หมื่นลี้ equal? Thairath Online has summarized the answers for you.
“ ลี้ ” is written in Chinese as 里 and pronounced li It is a traditional Chinese unit of distance found throughout history, literature, proverbs, and place names, such as “ the Great Wall of China stretching หมื่นลี้ ” (万里长城).
When compared to modern distance standards, the unit “ลี้” can be summarized as follows:
Therefore, the question “ How many kilometers is หมื่นลี้?” has the answer of 5,000 kilometers. This distance is very long—comparable to traveling across a large country or region.
Although today it is defined as 1 ลี้ equals 500 meters, if the term appears in historical dramas or documents, one should not rigidly apply this figure because the length of a “ ลี้ ” changed over time and varied according to the measurement systems of different dynasties.
For this reason, the phrase “ หมื่นลี้ ” (10,000 ลี้) in ancient stories may not literally mean 5,000 kilometers but is often used metaphorically by authors to illustrate a very long distance, an extended journey, or a faraway land.
Thus, when a character says “ I will follow you หมื่นลี้ away,” it may not literally mean traveling 5,000 kilometers but is an expression of determination to follow someone no matter how far away they are.