There was a period when Chinese ri was called "shinari" (Chinese ri, approximately 500 meters) in Japanese literature for distinction because 1 ri in Japan and in China had quite different length as mentioned above.
上記のとおり日本の1里と中国の1里は長さが大きく異なるため、日本の文献内で中国の里のことを『支那里』と呼んで区別していた時代もある。