Grand Canal
The Grand Canal, a great project on the eastern plain of China, is a great water conservancy building created by the working people of ancient China. It is the longest canal in the world, and the earliest and largest canal in the world.
The Grand Canal was built in 486 B.C., including the Sui and Tang Grand Canal, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and the Grand Canal of East Zhejiang, with a total length of 2,700 kilometers, spanning more than 10 latitudes on the earth, spanning Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, eight provinces and municipalities directly under the central Government, and running through the North China Great Plain. With access to the Haihe River, Yellow River, Huaihe River, Yangtze River and Qiantang River, it is the main artery of north-south communication in ancient China. By 2023, the history of the Grand Canal has lasted for more than 2,500 years.
On June 22, 2014, the Grand Canal was approved for inclusion in the World Heritage List at the 38th World Heritage Assembly, becoming the 46th World Heritage project in China. The final list of the Grand Canal heritage is distributed in 2 municipalities, 6 provinces and 25 prefecture-level cities in China. The declared series of heritages selected typical river passages and important heritage points of each river section, including 27 river heritages, with a total length of 1,011 kilometers and a total of 58 related heritages.
Construction background
In ancient times, there were two kinds of river transport: natural river transport and artificial canal. Natural river transport has brought convenient transportation to human beings, both labor saving and economic, a reed voyage, as long as the water is competent, it can reach all parts of its coast along the waterway. Although the transport on land is not restricted by the river, it can be anywhere at will, but in addition to the flat land, the mountains and valleys, there are transportation difficulties everywhere; And from the transportation volume, the gap between vehicles and ships is very large, and the force is also very wide, compared with the two, naturally, the advantages of river transportation are large. Of course, the transportation of natural rivers also has its shortcomings and shortcomings, which is that the river should be determined with the terrain of the highlands, and the river has a certain flow direction and process problems, and the area far from the river will not be convenient. In this way, artificial canals have appeared to supplement the deficiency of natural rivers.
Brief history of construction
Spring and Autumn to the northern and Southern Dynasties
At the end of the Spring and Autumn period, the State of Wu dug three canals, namely Xuxi, Hangou and Huanggou. After the excavation of Xuxi was completed, the Wu people could go from Taihu Lake in the east, along the west of Xuxi, until the present Wuhu area, then turn into the Yangtze River, and then cross the Yangtze River to the north along the Zha Water to the Chaohu Lake area to the north into the Huai water.
In 486 BC, King Fuchai of Wu, in order to control the Central Plains, used the natural rivers and lakes of the Yangtze River Delta to dredged the ancient waterway and dug the Han Ditch. Fuchai, the last king of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period, played a pioneering role in the excavation of the canal. He was the excavator of the “first spade” of the Grand Canal.
Han Ditch connects the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River, becoming the earliest section of the Sui and Tang Grand Canal, and is considered to be the beginning of the Grand Canal. Yangzhou and Huaian, two famous historical and cultural cities, were born because of the excavation of Han Ditch.
At the same time, Shanyin Canal, the predecessor of the eastern Zhejiang Canal, has also been basically formed, which can be said to be one of the earliest man-made canals built in China’s history and still well preserved in 2020.
Later, Qin Shihuang dug a Ling canal between Hunan and Guangxi to connect the water transport. The Han Dynasty dug a channel, from Chang ‘an Weihe river into the channel, along the foot of the Nanshan Mountain, all the way to the Yellow River. In Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, some local canals were dug, which played a positive role in the opening of the Sui and Tang Grand Canals.
Sui Dynasty
From the pre-Qin period to the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the working people of ancient China dug a large number of canals, which were distributed in almost half of China. As far as Guanzhong in the west, Guangdong in the south, and the Great Plain of North China, there are artificial canals, which are connected with natural rivers and can reach most parts of China by rivers. For example, from Tongxian County, not far from Beijing, you can take a boat to Shun Lu River from Quanzhou Canal to Gou Hekou and enter the sea, after a short sea journey, then enter 泒 River, from 泒 River through Pinglu Canal, and into Zhangshui, from Zhangshui through Ligao Canal and Bai Ditch and enter the Yellow River, from the Yellow River into the upper reaches of Bianqu Canal, Lang Lang Canal respectively, from Yingshui into Rushui, and then Wushui from a tributary of Rushui into 泚 water. The 泚 water enters the 淯 water, the Yu-Shui enters the Hanshui River, the Hanshui enters the Yangkou Canal, the Yangkou Canal enters the Yangtze River, the Yangtze River enters the Dongting Lake, the Dongting Lake enters the Xiangshui River, the Xiangshui River enters the Lishui River, and the Lishui River enters the Xijiang River, which leads to Panyu City; Or from Jiangling up the Yangtze River to Bashu, to the southwest. This waterway extending in all directions laid the foundation for later generations to open the Sui and Tang Grand Canal.
Sui Kai River, just a number of natural rivers or old trenches connected into a gas.
The Grand canal of the Sui dynasty was divided into four parts: Tongji Canal, Han Canal, Yongji Canal and Jiangnan Canal.
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty made painstaking efforts to dredge, repair and excavate the Sui-Tang Grand Canal. The main projects are: four dredging Kaibian Canal, five dredging Shanyang (Han Ditch), three Jiangnan Canal, two dredging Danba waterway, three dredging Bao Skew road, dredging Jialing River waterway, treatment of Lingqu, Yellow River Fenshui Road (the number of dredging and rectification is only a number, in fact, when the canal is blocked, dredging and rectification work is often carried out). The Tang Dynasty made great efforts to excavate, dredge and collect the water canal. Through long-term excavation and management, both the main stream and tributaries of the water canal were able to pass smoothly, and a prosperous water canal industry appeared.
Song and Yuan Dynasties
In the Southern Song Dynasty, the Tongji Canal was buried, and few remains of the canal can be found.
From the Yuan Dynasty, the capital changed to Beijing, the national political center shifted, the Yuan Dynasty Kublai Khan ordered the excavation of the Jezhou River, Huitong River, Tonghui River, the digging of the Yuan Dynasty Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, straight north and south, the canal from Jiangsu Huaian through Suqian, Xuzhou straight up Shandong to Beijing. At this point, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in the present sense was born.
Danyang section of Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal
In the Yuan Dynasty, the status of the East Zhejiang Canal was less than that of the Southern Song Dynasty, but it was still the main route connecting the hinterland of Qingyuan Port, which was one of the three major trading ports (Guangzhou, Quanzhou and Qingyuan) at that time. During this period, the government carried out construction and dredging.
Ming and Qing dynasties
In Ming and Qing dynasties, the central government attached great importance to the canal transport, and set up the governor of the canal transport and the governor of the river course to take charge of the canal transport management and canal water conservancy management respectively. The cities along the canal also prospered because of the canal transport, Tianjin, Dezhou, Cangzhou, Linqing and other cities in the north developed rapidly, and Huaian, Yangzhou, Suzhou and Hangzhou in the southeast also became prosperous cities, and were known as the “four metropolises” and “four capitals in the Southeast” along the canal. The Ming and Qing dynasties both built their capital in Beijing and expanded the Grand Canal of the Yuan Dynasty.
After the founding of the People’s Republic of China
After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, work began on the partial restoration and expansion of the ancient Grand Canal. After 1959, combined with the South-to-North Water diversion project, the expansion of more than 400 kilometers of canal from Xuzhou to the Yangtze River has achieved many benefits.
In February 2017, when the General Secretary visited the Grand Canal Forest Park in Beijing, he stressed that the past should be used for the present, and the historical and cultural resources with the Grand Canal as the core should be deeply excavated. Protecting the canal is the shared responsibility of all regions along the canal, and Beijing should actively play an exemplary role, he said.
In June, the General Secretary made important instructions on the construction of the Grand Canal cultural belt: The Grand Canal is a precious heritage left to us by our ancestors and a flowing culture, which should be properly protected, inherited and utilized.
The Outline emphasizes the basic principles of scientific planning, highlighting protection, making the past useful for the present, strengthening inheritance, optimizing layout and rational utilization, and building the Grand Canal into a splendid cultural belt, a green ecological belt and a colorful tourism belt.
Sui and Tang Grand Canal section:
The Sui-Tang Grand Canal mainly included four parts: Tongji Canal, Han Canal, Yongji Canal and Jiangnan Canal, with Luoyang as the center, north to Zhuojun (today’s Beijing), south to Yuhang (today’s Hangzhou). The descendants extended to Kuaiji (now Shaoxing) and Ningbo through the East Zhejiang Canal.
Spanning more than 10 latitudes on the earth, the Sui and Tang Grand Canal runs through China’s richest North China Plain and southeast coastal areas, spanning Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and municipalities directly under the central Government. It is the main north-south communication artery in ancient China and has played a huge role in Chinese history. It is a great water conservancy construction project created by the working people in ancient China.
Beijing-hangzhou Grand Canal section:
The Beijing-Hangzhou Canal part of the Grand Canal of China mainly includes seven sections of Tonghui River, North Canal, South Canal, Huitong River (Lu Canal), Middle River, Huaiyang Canal and Jiangnan Canal, passing through Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.
Gonghuan Bridge on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal
The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, as a north-south traffic artery, has made great contributions to the economic and cultural development and exchanges between the north and south regions of China, especially to the development of industrial and agricultural economy along the route.
Eastern Zhejiang Canal:
The East Zhejiang Canal, also known as Hangyong Canal, is a canal in Zhejiang Province, China, which was built in the Spring and Autumn Period. Since then, the canal east of the Cao ‘e River has formed a complete canal from the Qiantang River in the west to the East China Sea in the east. When Lin ‘an was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, the East Zhejiang Canal became an important waterway at that time. Many gates and DAMS have been built in the eastern Zhejiang Canal. This, together with a large number of Bridges of different forms, has become the characteristics of the eastern Zhejiang Canal, and has become an important canal heritage.
World heritage site
On June 22, 2014, at the 38th session of the World Heritage Assembly, the Grand Canal of China was approved for inclusion in the World Heritage List. The declared series of heritages selected typical river passages and important heritage points of each river section, including 27 river heritages, with a total length of 1011 kilometers, and a total of 58 related heritages. The types of heritage include the remains of canal waterworks such as locks, embankments, DAMS, Bridges, water gates, towpaths, wharves, and danger works, as well as the supporting facilities and management facilities of the Grand Canal such as silos, yamen, post stations, palaces, guild halls, and banknotes pass, and some ancient buildings and historical and cultural blocks closely related to the cultural significance of the Grand Canal. These heritages are distributed in 2 municipalities, 6 provinces and 25 prefecture-level cities, with a total area of 20,819 hectares of heritage areas and 54,263 hectares of buffer zones.