The li is China's traditional unit of road distance. Its length changed with the dynasties, but it was always roughly half a kilometre, and the modern market li is fixed at exactly 500 metres. Costume dramas measure journeys in li, so "a thousand li" is a long way from home rather than a thousand miles. In The Litchi Road, the hero must carry fresh lychees from Lingnan in the far south to Chang'an, more than 5,000 li, for an imperial consort's birthday.
