Chinese units such as jin, catty, mu, li and chi are easy to convert when the source is modern mainland China. The hard part is knowing when that modern value is safe to use.
Quick answer: for current mainland China, 1 jin is 0.5 kg, 1 catty is usually the same as 1 jin, 1 mu is 666.67 square meters, 1 li is 0.5 km, and 1 chi is 33.33 cm. Slow down for historical, regional, Taiwan, Hong Kong or specialist references.
| Chinese unit | Modern mainland value | Best converter | Common use |
|---|---|---|---|
| jin / catty | 0.5 kg = 500 g = 1.102 lb | Jin to kg | Food, groceries, body weight, shipping |
| liang | 50 g | Liang to grams | Food, tea, traditional recipes |
| qian | 5 g | Qian to grams | Small weights and older references |
| mu | 666.67 m2 = 0.1647 acres | Mu to acres | Farmland, land listings, property |
| qing | 100 mu = 6.667 hectares | Qing to acres | Large land areas |
| li | 0.5 km = 0.3107 miles | Li to miles | Travel notes, books, distance references |
| chi | 33.33 cm = 13.12 inches | Chi to inches | Length, clothing, older descriptions |
| cun | 3.333 cm = 1.312 inches | Cun to cm | Small length references |
If you are reading a current mainland Chinese recipe, grocery note, product weight, property listing or travel description, the modern value is usually the right starting point. That is why searches such as "jin to kg", "catty to pounds", "mu to acres", "li to miles" and "chi to inches" can be answered with fixed formulas.
For example, a listing that says 3 jin of fruit means about 1.5 kg. A farmland listing that says 10 mu means about 1.647 acres. A distance described as 10 li means about 5 km or 3.107 miles. These are simple conversions when the source is a modern mainland context.
Chinese units have a long history, and older values did not always match modern mainland values. Regional markets can also differ. Taiwan catty, Hong Kong catty, historical jin, and specialist traditional references may need a different conversion. If the source is legal, historical, medical, academic or archival, treat the converter as a first-pass reading aid, not the final authority.
The safest workflow is to identify the place, period and domain first. A current mainland grocery page, a Qing-era document, a Taiwan market price and a Hong Kong product listing should not automatically be interpreted with the same value.
Use 1 jin = 0.5 kg for modern mainland groceries, recipes, body weight talk and shipping notes. For reverse lookup, 1 kg equals 2 jin.
In mainland China, catty is commonly used as the English name for jin, so 1 catty is about 1.102 pounds. Check region if the source says Taiwan or Hong Kong catty.
Use 1 mu = 666.67 square meters = 0.1647 acres for modern mainland farmland and land area listings. For large areas, 100 mu is about 16.47 acres.
Use 1 modern li = 0.5 km = 0.3107 miles for quick travel and reading context. Older literary uses can be less precise.
Use 1 modern chi = 33.33 cm = 13.12 inches. For clothing or body measurements, confirm whether the source actually uses metric centimeters instead.
When the query is broad, start from the unit category: weight, land area, distance, length, volume, money subdivision or large-number notation.