How old is the grand canal

By , no less than ,,kg of grain was being shipped along the canal each year. And the canal became a lifeline for communication, with government couriers running messages up and down the waterway. Today, pleasure boats, not barges, ply the Grand Canal where it terminates in Beijing. A feat of modernity in itself, the canal led to equally extraordinary innovations.

Yet after railroads took over China in the late 19th Century, the canal was largely forgotten. Vast sections fell into disrepair. In , the canal was restored. Today, some sections — particularly in the south — are plied by barges, mostly transporting construction material, while others remain unused. And last year, the city built a new park: the Grand Canal Forest Park , which runs 8. Immaculate clusters of flowers and foliage grew, many with descriptive signs in both Mandarin and English.

From a small amusement park, a carousel tinkled a tune. Lotus flowers blossomed at the edges of the grey-green water.

The only movement was a tiny boat, no more than a creaky platform with a sputtering outboard engine; its crew of three old men looked like they were trawling for fish.

Floating in and out of the mist that hung thick in the air, they seemed like apparitions. A tiny boat of fishermen sputtered along the canal. At the dock, wooden boats lined up to take curious customers across. As mine puttered down the canal, another boat passed, this one without so much as an engine, just an operator rowing wooden oars.

A handful of locals were on board for a Sunday outing. We waved at each other, and they smiled curiously: what was a tourist doing all the way out here? Once, the canal had been proof that China was on the fast track. Yet today, as Beijing builds bullet trains and underground metros, expands its airports and thrusts skyscrapers into the sky, the Grand Canal is anything but.

It seems, instead, a symbol of a slower-moving past. And that made it a refreshing stop. But as Beijing races ahead, building modern monuments to commerce, industry and traffic, experiencing the canal — stepping outside of the rush, experiencing a place of lotus flowers and fishermen, faded pride and stillness — seems all the more poignant.

Share using Email. By Amanda Ruggeri 2nd October The tourist resources along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal are rich and colorful, which meet the demands of visitors of various tastes. In addition, it's worth taking a cruise from Hangzhou to Suzhou to explore the ancient folk customs of the southern Yangtze River delta, and the night cruise is wonderful.

It has been open to the public since its completion in September , and it fully displays vicissitudes of the Grand Canal in history in the forms of material objects such as bridges, boats and ferries. The famous stretches of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal are now mainly concentrated in Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province, most of which are navigable for cruises. The Grand Canal in Jiangsu Province stretches for kilometers miles , serving as an extremely important water transportation artery in East China, perfectly linking northern Jiangsu Province and southern Jiangsu Province.

The kilometers miles long south Jiangsu stretch runs through Changzhou, Zhenjiang, Wuxi and Suzhou, and connects the Yangtze River and Taihu Lake, which also links the rivers of Zhejiang Province. The Grand Canal in Zhejiang Province is kilometers 75 miles long and connects the Taihu water system and the Qiantangjiang water system, and it's navigable throughout the year. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has made great contributions to China's unification, economic development and cultural prosperity in its 2,year history, and is awarded as being one of the two great projects of ancient China along with the Great Wall, and it still has a substantial influence on China both economically and culturally.

The Hangzhou section Grand Canal has the most beautiful scenery among all these sections. Travelers can take a boat cruise along the canal, and see the old bridges.. A guide is neccessay to help you understand the interesting history about this ancient canal. If you have an interest in architecture, let us know when you are booking your tour with us so that we can make sure your tour focuses mostly on those aspects of Chinese architecture you're interested in.

We can also offer half-day or day tours around all of the architectural structures and sites mentioned in this article.

China Highlights uses cookies to give you the best possible service. If you continue browsing, you agree to the use of cookies. More details can be found in our privacy policy. Home Chinese Culture China History. Agriculture and Industry along the Grand Canal The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal belt is among the richest agricultural areas of China, where the industry and transportation are also very prosperous. Grand Canal Museum.

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