Why is the traditional mode of transportation in southern China by water?

The geographical environment between north and south determines the different modes of transportation. There are many rivers and lakes in the south, with vertical and horizontal waters, hilly terrain and inconvenient land transportation, which is suitable for the development of water transport.

South China is in the transition zone from subtropical monsoon climate to warm temperate monsoon climate. The terrain is dominated by plains and hills, and lakes and rivers are easy to form under rainy climate conditions. There are two water systems, the Yangtze River and Qiantang River, which are connected by canals, and the Pearl River system is further south.

In the long-term development process, a large number of water conservancy projects have been built to connect them, such as Taibai Kaibodui, Wu Zixu Kaiweixi, Fucha Digging Hangou and Jiangnan Canal. , thus forming the current "water town Zeguo".

The ship is an important means of transportation. People in water towns use boats instead of walking, just as people in plains use cars instead of walking. Ships are also important production tools. People use ships to catch and breed aquatic products. The boat is also a walking house, where people rest and enjoy the night view at night. There are many alpine grasslands in northern China, which is convenient for the use of animal power; There are many rivers and lakes in the south, and the coastline is mostly southeast, which is convenient for boat trips.

Classification of water transport

Water transport is divided into sea transport and river transport. They use the oceans and rivers endowed by nature as communication lines. However, not all rivers and lakes can become ready-made waterways. If ships with high navigable tonnage are needed, it is necessary to widen the narrow river channel, dig the shallow river channel deeply, and sometimes dig canals connecting the rivers to provide a channel network extending in all directions for large inland river ships.

Ocean transportation is a mode of transportation that uses ships and other water vehicles to transport goods and passengers through sea passages. It has the advantages of large volume and low cost, but the transportation speed is slow and affected by natural conditions.

Inland river transportation is called "river transportation" for short. In natural or man-made waterways such as rivers, lakes and reservoirs in China, a mode of transportation is to use ships and other water vehicles to transport goods and passengers. It has the advantages of low cost, low energy consumption, less investment, less or no occupation of cultivated land, but it is limited by natural conditions, slow speed and poor continuity.