How Long Is the Great Wall of China? Facts, Age and History

The Great Wall of China is 21,196.18 km (about 13,171 miles) long, counting the walls and defenses of every dynasty, according to China’s national Great Wall survey published in 2012. The Ming-dynasty wall alone, the brick-and-stone wall most visitors walk near Beijing, measures 8,851.8 km (about 5,500 miles).

How long is the Great Wall of China?

The official figure is 21,196.18 km. It comes from the Great Wall resources survey run by China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration and published in 2012. That survey recognized 43,721 separate Great Wall heritage items: stretches of wall, but also trenches, watchtowers, fortresses and passes, built by many dynasties over two thousand years.

The figure of about 5,500 miles that you may have seen is the Ming wall alone. Its length of 8,851.8 km was published in April 2009 by the National Cultural Heritage Administration and the National Administration of Surveying and Mapping. Experts note that some Great Wall remains are still not formally recognized, so treat 21,196 km as what the 2012 survey measured, not a final total.

How old is the Great Wall?

UNESCO describes the Great Wall as built continuously from the 3rd century BC to the 17th century AD. In about 220 BC, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China, joined earlier walls into a single defensive system. Building went on, dynasty after dynasty, until the Ming (1368–1644), whose wall is the one you see in most photographs.

The national survey covers walls of the Warring States, Qin and Han periods; defense systems of the Northern Wei, Northern Qi, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Western Xia and Liao; the border trenches of the Jin; and the Ming wall. Near Beijing you can see how the layers overlap: at Mutianyu, the Ming general Xu Da rebuilt the wall on Northern Qi foundations, and Mutianyu Pass dates from 1404.

What the Great Wall is made of

The Great Wall is not a single continuous wall. It is a network of walls, horse tracks, watchtowers, shelters, fortresses, passes and beacon towers, built and rebuilt by different dynasties. Some of it is not a wall at all but a trench.

The materials change with the landscape. In Gansu, in the far west, Western Han sections were made of rammed earth. The Ming wall near Beijing is masonry: dressed stone and grey brick laid along the mountain ridges. At Jinshanling, just across the border in Hebei, you can still find bricks stamped with inscriptions, one of that section’s “three wonders.”

Where does the Great Wall start and end?

The wall begins in the east at Shanhaiguan, in Hebei Province, and ends in the west at Jiayuguan in Gansu Province. Both are famous fortified passes. Close to Beijing, Juyongguan guarded the northwest approach to the capital, with Badaling, the “lock and key of the northern gate,” close by. An old saying held that Juyongguan’s strength lay not in its own pass but in Badaling.

Can you see the Great Wall from space?

No, not with the naked eye. It is one of the most repeated myths about the wall. NASA explains that the Great Wall is generally not visible to the unaided eye from low Earth orbit, even though it is very long. From the Moon, it cannot be seen at all.

The first photograph confirmed to show the wall from orbit was taken by astronaut Leroy Chiao from the International Space Station on 24 November 2004, using a camera with a 180 mm lens. Chiao himself said he did not see the wall with his own eyes. China’s first astronaut, Yang Liwei, has also said that he did not see it. You can read NASA’s explanation in its archived article on the Great Wall from space.

UNESCO World Heritage listing in 1987

The Great Wall was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987 under the name “The Great Wall,” meeting five of the ten selection criteria: (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (vi). Badaling was among the stretches protected even earlier, listed as a national key heritage site in 1961.

The Great Wall around Beijing

Beijing has 520.77 km of Great Wall across six districts: Mentougou, Changping, Huairou, Pinggu, Miyun and Yanqing. Several sections are open to visitors as ticketed scenic areas, including these five:

• Badaling received its first foreign guest, India’s prime minister Nehru, in October 1954, and later Nixon, Reagan, Queen Elizabeth II and Mandela. See our Badaling Great Wall guide.
• Mutianyu has battlements on both sides of the wall and three watchtowers standing together on one platform at Zhengguantai. Read the Mutianyu Great Wall guide.
• Jinshanling, begun in 1368 at the very start of the Ming, has 5 passes, 67 watchtowers and 3 beacon towers. See the Jinshanling Great Wall guide.
• Simatai is described by the resort that runs it as preserving its original Ming appearance; it was damaged by shelling in the 1933 battle of Gubeikou.
• Huanghuacheng, built under the Ming Yongle emperor more than 600 years ago, has low stretches that disappeared under a reservoir.

Protecting the wall

Beijing’s Great Wall Protection Regulations came into force on 1 March 2026. Sections that are not open to visitors, such as the famous Jiankou ridge, are off-limits, and climbing them is prohibited. We only take guests to officially open sections. The six ticketed sections near Beijing range from Mutianyu and Badaling, where a cable car does the climbing, to the 10 km loop at Jinshanling.

Choosing a section to walk

To choose a section, read which part of the Great Wall to visit from Beijing. For an easy first visit with a cable car, our Mutianyu Great Wall private tour picks you up at your hotel in central Beijing with your own guide and driver.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the Great Wall of China in miles?

About 13,171 miles. China's national Great Wall survey, published in 2012, measured the walls and defenses of all dynasties at 21,196.18 km. The Ming-dynasty wall alone is 8,851.8 km, or about 5,500 miles.

How old is the Great Wall of China?

Parts of it are more than 2,000 years old. UNESCO describes the wall as built continuously from the 3rd century BC to the 17th century AD. Around 220 BC Qin Shi Huang joined earlier walls into one system, and building continued until the Ming dynasty (1368–1644).

Can you see the Great Wall from space?

Not with the naked eye. NASA says the wall is generally not visible to the unaided eye from low Earth orbit, and it cannot be seen from the Moon. Astronaut Leroy Chiao photographed it from the space station in 2004 with a 180 mm lens, but said he did not see it himself.

Who built the Great Wall?

Many dynasties over about 2,000 years. The survey covers walls of the Warring States, Qin and Han periods, defense systems of the Northern Wei, Northern Qi, Sui, Tang, Song, Liao and others, the Jin border trenches and the Ming wall. Qin Shi Huang first linked earlier walls around 220 BC.

Where does the Great Wall start and end?

It begins in the east at Shanhaiguan in Hebei Province and ends in the west at Jiayuguan in Gansu Province. It is not one continuous line but a system of walls, trenches, watchtowers, fortresses and passes.

How much of the Great Wall is in Beijing?

Beijing has 520.77 km (about 324 miles) of Great Wall across six districts: Mentougou, Changping, Huairou, Pinggu, Miyun and Yanqing. Mutianyu, Badaling, Juyongguan, Simatai and Huanghuacheng are ticketed sections within Beijing, and Jinshanling lies just over the border in Hebei.

When did the Great Wall become a World Heritage Site?

UNESCO inscribed the Great Wall on the World Heritage List in 1987, under the name "The Great Wall" and five of the selection criteria. Badaling had already been listed as a national key heritage site in China in 1961.

Facts checked: 5 November 2026. Ticket prices, opening hours and entry rules can change; we re-check before every booking.