The main channel of China's grand canal

The Grand Canal in China consists of the Sui and Tang Dynasties Grand Canal (Weihe River and Tongji River), the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal (Tonghui River, North Canal, South Canal, Huitong River, Zhonghe Canal, Huaiyang Canal and Jiangnan Canal), the East Zhejiang Canal and ten sections of rivers. The Sui and Tang Grand Canal, with Luoyang as the center, reaches Zhuo Jun (now Beijing) in the north, Yuhang (now Hangzhou) in the south, Henan as the center, Hebei and Beijing in the north and Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the south, connecting six provinces and cities, and connecting the five major water systems of the Yellow River, Huaihe River, Yangtze River, Qiantang River and Haihe River. It was the main artery of north-south traffic in ancient China, which contributed to the prosperity of cities along the route. At that time, there were "merchant tourists coming and going, ships coming and going in an endless stream" on the canal, which promoted the economic and cultural exchanges between the North and the South during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, safeguarded national unity and strengthened centralization of authority. It was a great water conservancy construction project created by the working people in ancient China.

The rivers listed in the World Cultural Heritage List include the ruins of Tongji Canal in Sui and Tang Dynasties and some sections of Yongji Canal, involving Hebei, Henan and Anhui provinces. Other parts of the Sui and Tang Dynasties Grand Canal overlap with the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Among the Grand Canal in China, the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal mainly includes seven sections: Tonghui River, North Canal, South Canal, Huitong River, Zhonghe Canal, Huaiyang Canal and Jiangnan Canal, passing through six provinces: Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

As the traffic artery between the north and the south, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has made great contributions to the economic and cultural development and exchanges between the north and the south of China, especially to the economic development of industry and agriculture along the route. Yuan Dynasty became the main waterway connecting Haihe River, Yellow River, Huaihe River, Yangtze River and Qiantang River, running through the north and south. The Ming and Qing dynasties maintained the foundation of the Yuan Canal, and dredged the abandoned reach in Shandong in the late Yuan Dynasty in the Ming Dynasty. From the middle of Ming Dynasty to the beginning of Qing Dynasty, canal projects such as Kaikoukou Canal, Tongji New River and Zhonghe River were carried out to separate the Yellow River from Weishan Lake in Shandong Province, and the Moon River was dug between Jianghuai and realized the separation of lakes.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal starts from Tongzhou District of Beijing in the north and ends in Hangzhou in the south. It flows through Tonghui River (Beijing-Hebei Langfang), North Canal (Hebei Langfang-Tianjin), South Canal (Tianjin-Shandong Linqing), Huitong River (Shandong Linqing-Shandong Zaozhuang), Zhonghe River (Shandong Zaozhuang-Jiangsu Huai 'an), Huaiyang Canal (Jiangsu Huai 'an-Jiangsu Yangzhou) and Jiangnan Canal (Jiangsu Zhenjiang-Zhejiang Hangzhou). Total length 1794 km, ten times longer than Suez Canal and twenty times longer than Panama Canal. It is the longest artificial canal in the world. Navigation mileage 1442 km, of which the annual navigation mileage is 877 km, mainly distributed in Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces south of the Yellow River. Subei Canal is one of the busiest inland waterways in the world.

Tongzhou ancient poem goes: A tower shadow recognizes Tongzhou. The burning lighthouse stands at the northern end of the Grand Canal and is a landmark building in Jingmen Tongzhou. Tianjin North Canal and South Canal meet in Tianjin, where they are sent from Haihe River to Bohai Sea. According to records, during the developed period of water transportation, the North Canal from Tianjin to Tongzhou carried 20,000 grain ships every year, with officers and men 1.2 million, including 30,000 merchant ships. The opening of the waterway has enabled the small Zhigu village to rapidly develop into a well-known "Tianjinwei".

The intersection of Zhenjiang, Yangzhou Yangtze River and Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Liaocheng Lake and River accounts for one-third of the urban area, and is called "Venice in the north of China", which is very rare in northern cities, among which the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is indispensable. Suzhou "Suzhou Lake is ripe and the world is full". The opening of the canal made Suzhou rich in water and food. There are passenger lines to and from Suzhou-Hangzhou section of Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Huai 'an, Jiangsu Province is the intersection of the Grand Canal and the old paths of Huaihe River and Yellow River. Under the pier of the ancient town on the east bank of the canal is the former residence of The Journey to the West author Wu Cheng'en. Xiaoshao Canal (formerly known as Xixing Canal), the western section of the main canal on Ningshaoping Plain in eastern Zhejiang Province, was excavated by manual dredging in ancient times. The eastern section uses the natural waterway of Yuyao River. Yuyao River is below Zhang Ting in Yuyao County, with a width of150 ~ 250m and a water depth of about 4 ~ 5m. It flows into Yongjiang River in Ningbo. Due to the different water levels of Qiantang River, Cao 'e River and Yongjiang River, the canal can only be shipped in sections in history. 1966 A batch of 15 ~ 30-ton ship lifts were built. 1979 dredged the waterway according to the standard of 40 tons, and 1983 was opened to traffic. The waterway standard of the second phase of the canal reconstruction project was raised to 100 tons. After the implementation of the Qiantang River Communication Canal Project, it can go directly to Hangzhou and connect with the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal.

According to research, the East Zhejiang Canal can be traced back to the late Spring and Autumn Period, with a history of more than 2,400 years. When crossing the border, it is called "Yinshan Ancient Waterway", which starts from Qiantang River, passes through Cao 'e River, Yaojiang River and Yongjiang River, and flows into the East China Sea. Since then, after many renovations and dredging in the past dynasties, a water artery with multiple functions such as irrigation, flood control and transportation has been formed. On the basis of the predecessor of the Hangzhou-Ningbo Canal in Vietnam, Jin people communicated the connection between Yaojiang River and the small original river channel, and further played its role. After Qin unified China, the communication between Qiantang River and Yangtze River was rectified, which initially laid the basic trend of the Jiangnan Canal in Zhejiang. When Yang Di dug the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, it was also rectified to make it communicate with the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal more smoothly. In the middle of the Tang Dynasty, the Hangzhou-Ningbo Canal was dredged, excavated and built many times, and the plain canals on both sides of the strait were rectified, making irrigation and shipping convenient. During the Southern Song Dynasty, a series of large-scale dredging was carried out on the whole line, which lasted for nearly a hundred years and the navigation conditions were greatly improved. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi in Qing Dynasty, large-scale transport lanes and riverbanks were built on the Hangzhou-Ningbo Canal, which facilitated the waterway traffic along the canal.

On both sides of the canal, there are beautiful mountains and rivers, talented people and places of interest. Hemudu culture of 7,000 years is an outstanding representative of ancient culture in China, with celebrities such as Wang Yangming, Zhu Shunshui and Huang Zongxi. There are book collection culture represented by Tianyi Pavilion, water conservancy culture represented by Tashan Weir, celadon culture represented by Yue Kiln, architectural culture represented by Guobao Temple, Buddhist culture represented by Tiantong Temple and Asoka Temple, as well as Liangzhu Cultural Park and Love Temple by the canal. Zhaobaoshan has left many historical sites of national heroes such as Qi Jiguang and Lin Zexu.