China may be a 'metric country' according to the metricists, but Chinese weights and measures live on, as up-to-date Chinese tourist information and guide books testify. The most frequent Chinese weights and measures still in common use are:

the li - chinese mile = approx 1/3 mile or 1/2 kilometre [recognised as acceptable in the U.K. by the organisers of the National Scrabble Championships]

the chi - chinese foot - approx 1 foot

the jin - chinese pound - approx 1 foot

the mu - about six mus to the acre

the sheng - about two pints.



Tony Bennett

I assume "jin" is chinese pound and that you mean
that it is approx. one of our pounds not one of our feet.

wish we had some idea of how often and in which
contexts traditional chinese units are used

maybe some more info or anecdotal evidence will
come to light

I assume "jin" is chinese pound and that you mean
that it is approx. one of our pounds not one of our feet.

Answer:

In modern China, however, the jin is a metric unit equal to EXACTLY 500 grams and divided into 10 liang. The kilogram itself is usually called the gongjin, or "metric jin." The spellings chin and gin also have been used for the jin.


The jin is the same as the livre, libre, pond, pfund, etc. and pound (outside of the US/UK). All being 500 g.



wish we had some idea of how often and in which
contexts traditional chinese units are used

Answer:

The names of the units persist but as slang terms for rational metric quantities. This again is because the DEVICES used to do the measuring are 100 % metric. No jin scales, just kilogram.



maybe some more info or anecdotal evidence will
come to light

Answer:

Even the li has been metricated:


a traditional unit of distance in China. A Confucian proverb widely misquoted in the West as "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" actually says "a journey of a thousand li begins with a single step." Although the traditional li was approximately 500 meters, the late imperial governments of China used a li of 1800 ch'ih, which is 644.65 meters. In modern China, the li equals exactly 0.5 kilometer or 500 meters. In Chinese, the kilometer itself is usually called a gongli, or "metric li."