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135-962: Grand Canal can refer to multiple waterways: Grand Canal (China) in eastern China Grand Canal (Ireland) , between the River Shannon and Dublin in Ireland Grand Canal (Venice) in Venice, Italy Grand Canal d'Alsace in eastern France Grand Canal (Phoenix) in Arizona, United States Grand Canal ( Mario ) , a fictional location appearing in Mario Party 7 GRAND Canal or Great Recycling and Northern Development Canal , proposed for Great Lakes region of North America The proposed Pan Korea Grand Waterway ( 한반도 대운하 ) in South Korea, sometimes referred to as

270-574: A proto-Wu name of the local Yue , similar to Yuhang , Kuaiji and Jiang . Kuahuqiao culture was an early Neolithic culture that flourished in the Hangzhou area in 6,000-5,000 BC. Zhejiang was the site of the Neolithic cultures of the Hemudu (starting in 5500 BC) and Liangzhu (starting in 3400 BC). The area of modern Zhejiang was outside the major sphere of influence of Shang civilization during

405-499: A chancellor of the state of Shu Han from Central Plain in north China during the Three Kingdoms period, gathered together at the suburb of Hangzhou, forming an exclusive, closed village Zhuge Village (Zhege Cun), consisting of villagers all with family name "Zhuge." The village has intentionally isolated itself from the surrounding communities for centuries to this day and only recently came to be known in public. It suggests that

540-510: A competitor but as an economic feeder into the greater Suzhou market. Therefore, the Grand Canal served to make or break the economic fortunes of certain cities along its route and served as the economic lifeline of indigenous trade within China. The scholar Gu Yanwu of the early Qing dynasty (1644–1912) estimated that the previous Ming dynasty had to employ 47,004 full-time laborers recruited by

675-638: A further canal on the Tonghui River connected Tongzhou with a wharf called the Houhai or "rear sea" in central Beijing. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, however, the water level in the Tonghui River dropped and ships could not travel from Tongzhou to Beijing. Tongzhou then became the northern shipping terminus of the canal. Cargo was unloaded at Tongzhou and transported to Beijing by land. The Tonghui river still exists as

810-513: A gated space while the water could be drained to appropriate levels; the Chinese also built roofed hangars over the space to add further protection for the ships. Much of the Grand Canal was ruined for several years after 1128 when Kaifeng's governor Du Chong ( 杜 充 , Dù Chōng , d.   1141) decided to break the dykes and dams holding back the waters of the Yellow River in order to decimate

945-458: A legend within China. However, some economists now worry that this model is not sustainable, in that it is inefficient and places unreasonable demands on raw materials and public utilities, and also a dead end, in that the myriad small businesses in Zhejiang producing cheap goods in bulk are unable to move to more sophisticated or technologically more advanced industries. The economic heart of Zhejiang

1080-557: A man named Li Hualong created the Jia Canal. Named after the Jia River whose course it followed, it ran 140 kilometers (87 mi) from Xiazhen (modern Weishan) on the shore of Shandong's Weishan Lake to Suqian in Jiangsu. The construction of the Jia Canal left only 100 kilometers (62 mi) of Yellow River navigation on the Grand Canal, from Suqian to Huai'an, which by 1688 had been removed by

1215-400: A nominal GDP of US$ 1.14 trillion as of 2022. Zhejiang consists mostly of hills, which account for about 70% of its total area, with higher altitudes towards the south and the west. Zhejiang also has a longer coastline than any other mainland province of China. The Qiantang River runs through the province, from which it derives its name. Included in the province are three thousand islands,

1350-551: A rapid courier system. Enormous lines of trees were also planted along parts of the canal as windbreaks. Although the Tang dynasty (618–907) capital at Chang'an was the most thriving metropolis of China in its day, it was the city of Yangzhou —in proximity to the Grand Canal—that was the economic hub of the Tang era. Besides being the headquarters for the government salt monopoly and

1485-507: A renovated stone channel, it reaches the city of Linqing on the Shandong – Hebei border. Liangshan County is the northern terminus of the canal for barge traffic. The fifth section of the canal extends for a distance of 524 kilometers (326 mi) from Linqing to Tianjin along the course of the canalized Wei River . Though one of the northernmost sections, its name derives from its position relative to Tianjin. The Wei River at this point

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1620-489: A rival Zhejiang provincial government there. During the Cultural Revolution (1966–76), Zhejiang was in chaos and disunity and its economy was stagnant, especially during the high tide (1966–69) of the revolution. The agricultural policy favoring grain production at the expense of industrial and cash crops intensified economic hardships in the province. Mao's self-reliance policy and the reduction in maritime trade cut off

1755-419: A series of lakes—Zhaoyang, Dushan, and Nanyang—which nominally form a continuous body of water. At present, diversions of water mean that the lakes are often largely dry land. North of the northernmost Nanyang Lake is the city of Jining . Further on, about 30 km (19 mi) north of Jining, the highest elevation of the canal (38.5 m or 126 ft above sea level) is reached at the town of Nanwang . In

1890-738: A small number of powerful, elite Chinese refugees from the Central Plain might have taken refuge south of the Yangtze River. However, considering the mountainous geography and relative lack of agrarian lands in Zhejiang, most of these refugees might have resided in some areas in South China beyond Zhejiang, where fertile agrarian lands and metropolitan resources were available, mainly Southern Jiangsu , Eastern Fujian , Jiangxi , Hunan , Anhui and provinces where less cohesive, organized regional governments had been in place. Metropolitan areas of Sichuan

2025-491: A smooth and efficient canal system. The city of Kaifeng grew to be a major hub, later becoming the capital of the Song dynasty (960–1279). Although the Tang and Song dynasty international seaports—the greatest being Guangzhou and Quanzhou , respectively—and maritime foreign trade brought merchants great fortune, it was the Grand Canal within China that spurred the greatest amount of economic activity and commercial profit. During

2160-462: A total of 165,000 laborers dredged the canal bed in Shandong and built new channels, embankments, and canal locks . The Yongle Emperor moved the Ming capital from Nanjing to Beijing in 1403. This move deprived Nanjing of its status as chief political center of China. The reopening of the Grand Canal also benefited Suzhou over Nanjing since the former was in a better position on the main artery of

2295-753: A wide, concrete-lined storm-channel and drain for the suburbs of Beijing. The Eastern Zhejiang Canal runs 239 kilometers (149 mi) across the coastal plain south of Hangzhou Bay in northern Zhejiang. It begins at the Qiantang River in Xixing, Binjiang District , Hangzhou; crosses the Cao'e River in Shaoxing ; and connects to the Yong River and ports on the East China Sea at Ningbo . This Hangzhou–Ningbo canal began as

2430-473: Is Hangzhou , and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou . Zhejiang is bordered by Jiangsu and Shanghai to the north, Anhui to the northwest, Jiangxi to the west and Fujian to the south. To the east is the East China Sea , beyond which lies the Ryukyu Islands . The population of Zhejiang stands at 64.6 million, the 8th largest in China. It has been called "the backbone of China" because it

2565-462: Is heavily polluted while drought and industrial water extraction have left it too low to be navigable. The canal, now in Hebei province, passes through the cities of Dezhou and Cangzhou . Although to spectators, the canal appears to be a deep waterway in these city centers, its depth is maintained by weirs and the canal is all but dry where it passes through the surrounding countryside. At its terminus,

2700-623: Is a major driving force in the Chinese economy and being the birthplace of several notable people, including the Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek and entrepreneur Jack Ma . Zhejiang consists of 90 counties (incl. county-level cities and districts). The area of Zhejiang was controlled by the Kingdom of Yue during the Spring and Autumn period . The Qin Empire later annexed it in 222 BC. Under

2835-712: Is about 1,000 to 1,900 mm (39 to 75 in). There is plenty of rainfall in early summer and by late summer Zhejiang is directly threatened by typhoons forming in the Pacific. Zhejiang is divided into eleven prefecture-level divisions : all prefecture-level cities (including two sub-provincial cities ): The eleven prefecture-level divisions of Zhejiang are subdivided into 90 county-level divisions (37 districts , 20 county-level cities , 32 counties , and one autonomous county ). Those are in turn divided into 1,364 township-level divisions (618 towns , 488 townships , and 258 subdistricts ). Hengdian belongs to Jinhua, which

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2970-815: Is currently navigable. Its course is today divided into seven sections. From south to north these are the Jiangnan Canal, the Li Canal, the Inner Canal, the Middle Canal, the Lu Canal, the South Canal, the North Canal, and the Tonghui River. Man-Made Lake Lianhu Training Lake "Lianhu" was used to feed water to the Grand Canal section near Jiangnan. Since the canal was man-made there was not enough naturally flowing water to keep

3105-453: Is moving from North Zhejiang, centered on Hangzhou, southeastward to the region centered on Wenzhou and Taizhou. The per capita disposable income of urbanites in Zhejiang reached 55,574 yuan (US$ 8,398) in 2018, an annual real growth of 8.4%. The per capita disposable income of rural residents stood at 27,302 yuan (US$ 4,126), a real growth of 9.4%. Zhejiang was the first province to pilot a common prosperity pilot program. Traditionally,

3240-429: Is rainy with changeable weather. Summer, from June to September is long, hot, rainy and humid. Fall is generally dry, warm and sunny. Winters are short but cold except in the far south. Average annual temperature is around 15 to 19 °C (59 to 66 °F), average January temperature is around 2 to 8 °C (36 to 46 °F) and average July temperature is around 27 to 30 °C (81 to 86 °F). Annual precipitation

3375-565: Is ranked second among the provinces. Its many market towns connect the cities with the countryside. In 1832, the province was exporting silk, paper, fans, pencils, wine, dates , tea and "golden-flowered" hams . Zhejiang has been leading the digital economy development in China, in recent years, the provincial economy has been boosted by the economic surge brought by internet corporations such as Alibaba and NetEase. Ningbo, Wenzhou, Taizhou and Zhoushan are important commercial ports. The Hangzhou Bay Bridge between Haiyan County and Cixi ,

3510-476: Is the largest base of shooting films and TV dramas in China. Hengdian World Studios is called "China's Hollywood." At the year end of 2021, the total population was 65.40 million. The politics of Zhejiang is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China. The Governor of Zhejiang is the highest-ranking official in the People's Government of Zhejiang . However, in

3645-489: Is the longest bridge over a continuous body of sea water in the world. On Thursday, September 15, 2011, more than 500 people from Hongxiao Village protested over the large-scale death of fish in a nearby river . Angry protesters stormed the Zhejiang Jinko Solar Company factory compound, overturned eight company vehicles, and destroyed the offices before police came to disperse the crowd. Protests continued on

3780-539: Is the remnant of the New Nanyang Canal of 1566 – see below). A southerly course passes close by Xuzhou and enters Weishan Lake near Peixian . This latter course is less used today. Canal is utilized by barge traffic bringing coal and construction materials around northern Jiangsu Province. At Weishan Lake, both courses enter Shandong province. From here to Linqing , the canal is called the Lu or 'Shandong' Canal. It crosses

3915-563: The 6th in the country. The private sector in the province has been playing an increasingly important role in boosting the regional economy since Economic Reform in 1978. Zhejiang is generally regarded as having one of the strongest private sectors among Chinese provinces and its local governments typically adopt permissive business policies. Zhejiang's main manufacturing sectors are electromechanical industries, textiles , chemical industries, food and construction materials. In recent years Zhejiang has followed its own development model, dubbed

4050-704: The Chinese as the Jing – Hang Grand Canal , is thought to extend for 1,776 km (1,104 mi) and is divided into 6 main subsections. The Jiangnan Canal runs from the Qiantang River at Hangzhou to the Yangtze River at Zhenjiang ; the Inner Canal from the Yangtze at Yangzhou to the Huai River at Huai'an , which for centuries was also its junction with the former course of

4185-498: The Chinese government and UNESCO recognized the Eastern Zhejiang Canal from Hangzhou to Ningbo along the former Tongji and Yongji Canals as official components of the Grand Canal. The oldest sections of what is now the Grand Canal were completed in the early 5th century BC during the conflicts of China's Spring and Autumn period to provide supplies and transport routes for the states of Wu and Yue . The network

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4320-694: The First Opium War , the British navy defeated Eight Banners forces at Ningbo and Dinghai . Under the terms of the Treaty of Nanking , signed in 1843, Ningbo became one of the five Chinese treaty ports opened to virtually unrestricted foreign trade. Much of Zhejiang came under the control of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom during the Taiping Rebellion , which resulted in a considerable loss of life in

4455-566: The Huai River , and then transferred back onto deep barges once the shipment of grain reached the Yellow River . Chinese engineers built a dam to divert the Wen River to the southwest in order to feed 60% of its water north into the Grand Canal, with the remainder going south. They dug four large reservoirs in Shandong to regulate water levels, which allowed them to avoid pumping water from local sources and water tables. Between 1411 and 1415

4590-528: The Jiangnan Canal and to connect Luoyang northeast to his wars with Korea by the Yongji Canal ( t 永 濟 渠 , s 永 济 渠 , Yǒngjì Qú ). After this network's completion in 609, Emperor Yang was said to have led a flotilla of boats 105 km (65 mi) long from the north down to his southern capital at Yangzhou. This process again involved massive levies of conscripted labor and

4725-588: The Jiangnan region in the southeast to enrich the main Sui capital at Luoyang to the west and to supply the expeditionary Sui armies in the Goguryeo-Sui Wars to the northeast. The institution of the Grand Canal also obviated the need for army garrisons to become self-sufficient part-time militia-farmers while guarding the dry frontiers between China, Goguryeo and Göktürk . A dike -building project in 587 along

4860-561: The Ming dynasty and the Manchu Qing dynasty . Despite the importance of railways and roads in modern China, the People's Republic of China has worked to improve the navigability of the canal since the end of the Chinese Civil War and the portion south of the Yellow River remains in heavy use by barges carrying bulk cargo . Increasing concern over pollution in China and particularly

4995-505: The Mongols invaded in the 13th century and began necessary repairs. During the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) the capital of China was moved to Beijing, eliminating the need for the canal arm flowing west to Kaifeng or Luoyang. A summit section was dug across the foothills of the Shandong massif during the 1280s, shortening the overall length by as much as 700 km (430 mi), making

5130-653: The Qin Empire in 222 BC and organized into a commandery named for Kuaiji in Zhejiang but initially headquartered in Wu in Jiangsu . Kuaiji Commandery was the initial power base for Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu 's rebellion against the Qin Empire which initially succeeded in restoring the kingdom of Chu but eventually fell to the Han . Under the Later Han , control of the area returned to

5265-591: The Si and Bian rivers and became the model for the shape of the Grand Canal in the north. The exact date of the Hong Canal's construction is uncertain; it is first mentioned by the diplomat Su Qin in 330 BC when discussing state boundaries. The historian Sima Qian (145–90 BC) knew of no historical date for it, placing his discussion of it just after the legendary works of Yu the Great ; modern scholars now consider it to belong to

5400-707: The Song official and engineer Qiao Weiyue invented the pound lock in the 10th century. The canal has been admired by many visitors throughout its history, including the Japanese monk Ennin (794–864), the Persian historian Rashid al-Din Hamadani (1247–1318), the Korean official Choe Bu (1454–1504), and the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci (1552–1610). In the late Spring and Autumn period , King Fuchai of Wu (whose capital

5535-594: The Taiping Rebellion 's Northern Expedition . Because of various factors—the difficulty of crossing the Yellow River, the increased development of an alternative sea route for grain-ships, and the opening of the Tianjin-Pukou Railway and the Beijing-Hankou Railway —the canal languished and for decades the northern and southern parts remained separate. Many of the canal sections fell into disrepair, and some parts were returned to flat fields. Even today,

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5670-411: The Tang dynasty while stopover towns along the main course became the economic hubs of the empire. Periodic flooding of the Yellow River threatened the safety and functioning of the canal while, during wartime, the rivers' high dikes were sometimes deliberately broken to delay or sweep away advancing enemy troops. Even so, restoration and improvement of the canal and its associated flood control works

5805-559: The West Lake of Hangzhou and the South Lake of Jiaxing. There are over three thousand islands along the rugged coastline of Zhejiang. The largest, Zhoushan Island , is mainland China's third largest island, after Hainan and Chongming . There are also many bays, of which Hangzhou Bay is the largest. Zhejiang has a humid subtropical climate with four distinct seasons. Spring starts in March and

5940-617: The Yangtze Delta to northern China . Minor additions to the canal were made after the Sui period to cut down on travel time, but overall no fundamental differences existed between the Sui Grand Canal and the Tang Grand Canal. By the year 735, it was recorded that about 149,685,400 kilograms (165,000 short tons) of grain were shipped annually along the canal. The Tang government oversaw canal lock efficiency and built granaries along

6075-483: The Yellow River ; the Middle Canal from Huai'an to the Nansi Lakes ; the Lu Canal from the lakes past Jining and the present course of the Yellow River to the Wei River at Linqing ; the Southern Canal from Linqing to the Hai River at Tianjin ; and the Northern Canal from Tianjin to Tongzhou on the outskirts of Beijing. As such, it passes through the provinces and municipalities of Zhejiang , Jiangsu , Shandong , Hebei , Tianjin, and Beijing. In 2014,

6210-450: The Zhe River ( 浙江 ; Zhè Jiāng ), the former name of the Qiantang River which flows past Hangzhou and whose mouth forms Hangzhou Bay . It is usually understood as meaning "Crooked" or "Bent River", from the meaning of Chinese 折 , but is more likely a phono-semantic compound formed from adding 氵 (the "water" radical used for river names) to phonetic 折 ( Pinyin zhé but reconstructed Old Chinese * tet ), preserving

6345-529: The lijia corvée system in order to maintain the entire canal system. It is known that 121,500 soldiers and officers were needed simply to operate the 11,775 government grain barges in the mid-15th century. Besides its function as a grain shipment route and major vein of river-borne indigenous trade in China, the Grand Canal had long been a government-operated courier route as well. In the Ming dynasty, official courier stations were placed at intervals of 35 to 45 km (22 to 28 mi). Each courier station

6480-455: The "Grand Canal" The proposed Nicaragua Grand Canal that would link the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean The Great Man-Made River in Libya Other [ edit ] The Grand Canal (Streeton) – a 1908 painting by Arthur Streeton Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Grand Canal . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

6615-409: The "Zhejiang model", which is based on prioritizing and encouraging entrepreneurship, an emphasis on small businesses responsive to the whims of the market, large public investments into infrastructure , and the production of low-cost goods in bulk for both domestic consumption and export. As a result, Zhejiang has made itself one of the richest provinces and the "Zhejiang spirit" has become something of

6750-435: The 1950s a new canal was dug to the south of the old summit section. The old summit section is now dry, while the new canal holds too little water to be navigable. About 50 km (31 mi) further north, passing close by Dongping Lake , the canal reaches the Yellow River. By this point waterless, it no longer connects to the river. It reappears again in Liaocheng City on the north bank where, intermittently flowing through

6885-454: The 1990s, canal barge crews could tell when they neared Hangzhou by the stench of the visibly black water they passed through. Similarly, fishermen on Dongping Lake in Shandong objected to the introduction of water from the Yangtze as part of the South-North Water Diversion Project when they saw it noticeably killing fish and affecting their catch. During the 21st century, increasing efforts have been made to improve environmental conditions along

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7020-440: The 6th century BC. The reunification of China under the Sui dynasty (581–618) ended three centuries of chaos since the Upheaval of the Five Barbarians , and the renewed political stability allowed both the thorough repair of existing canals and flood control systems as well as the construction of new canals. The primary consideration of the Sui canals was the need to tap into the expanding economic and agricultural resources of

7155-540: The Beijing–Hangzhou and Sui and Tang canals as part of UNESCO's listing for the Grand Canal. The Grand Canal World Heritage site is composed of 31 sections and a number of accessory heritage sites. Though the canal nominally crosses the watersheds of five river systems, in reality, the variation between these is so low that it has only a single summit section. The elevation of the canal bed varies from 1 m below sea level at Hangzhou to 38.5 m above at its summit. At Beijing, it reaches 27 m, fed by streams flowing downhill from

7290-445: The Chinese architecture. Many saw the canal as an economic advantage that could bring economic prosperity, like the canal and its benefits. Matteo Ricci 's Journals describes the canal in great detail documenting the economic prosperity. The pound lock is one of the more notable features of the Erie canal that is directly connected to the infrastructure of the Grand Canal as it is used in other similar bodies of water. The Grand Canal

7425-417: The Chinese export trade to Southeast Asia, the Middle East and (during the Ming ) Europe. By the Ming, however, production was notably deficient in quality. It is in this period that the Longquan kilns declined, to be eventually replaced in popularity and ceramic production by the kilns of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi . Zhejiang was finally conquered by the Mongols in the late 13th century who later established

7560-450: The Chinese out of helping downed American airmen. Imperial Japanese forces killed an estimated 250,000 Chinese civilians from the area of Hangzhou to Nanchang and also Zhuzhou while searching for Doolittle's men. After the People's Republic of China took control of Mainland China in 1949, the Republic of China government based in Taiwan continued to control the Dachen Islands off the coast of Zhejiang until 1955, even establishing

7695-447: The Deputy Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection , China's top anti-corruption body. Of Zhejiang's fourteen Party Secretaries since 1949, none were native to the province. Zhejiang was home to Chiang Kai-shek and many high-ranking officials in the Kuomintang , who fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing the Civil War. Zhejiang is one of the richest and most developed provinces in China. As of 2022 , its nominal GDP

7830-527: The Grand Canal from the low-lying and flood-prone land west of Weishan Lake onto the marginally higher land to its east. It was fed by rivers flowing from east to west from the borders of the Shandong massif. North of the Jizhou Canal summit section, the Huitong Canal ran downhill, fed principally by the River Wen, to join the Wei River in the city of Linqing. In 1289, a geological survey preceded its one-year construction. The Huitong Canal, built by an engineer called Ma Zhizhen, ran across sharply sloping ground and

7965-576: The Grand Canal has not fully recovered its importance prior to the floods of the mid-19th century. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the need for economic development led the authorities to order heavy reconstruction work. The Grand Canal played a major role during Mao Zedong 's Great Leap Forward as it provided an efficient way to transport grain. It was further refurbished following Deng Xiaoping 's Reform and Opening Up , with improving economic conditions leading to greater infrastructure investment. The economic importance of

8100-409: The Grand Canal with a number of historical sections. Some of these have disappeared, others are still partially extant, and others form the basis for the modern canal. The following are the most important but do not form an exhaustive list. In 12 BC, in order to solve the problem of the Grand Canal having to use 160 kilometers (100 mi) of the perilous course of the Yellow River in Northern Jiangsu,

8235-409: The Grand Canal, and so it became Ming China's greatest economic center. The only other viable contender with Suzhou in the Jiangnan region was Hangzhou, but it was located 200 km (120 mi) further down the Grand Canal and away from the main delta. Even the shipwrecked Korean Choe Bu (1454–1504)—while traveling for five months throughout China in 1488—acknowledged that Hangzhou served not as

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8370-403: The Han Canal had connected the Yangtze with the Huai River utilizing existing waterways , lakes , and marshes . The Han Canal is known as the second oldest section of the later Grand Canal since the Hong Canal ( t   鴻溝 , s   鸿沟 , Hónggōu , "Canal of the Wild Geese" or "Far-Flung Canal") most likely preceded it. It linked the Yellow River near Kaifeng to

8505-514: The Jiangnan Canal, the Inner Canal is heavily utilized by barge traffic bringing coal, construction materials and increasingly shipping containers around Jiangsu Province. This 'Middle Canal' section runs from Huai'an to Weishan Lake , passing through Luoma Lake and following more than one course, the result of the impact of centuries of Yellow River flooding. After Pizhou , a northerly course passes through Tai'erzhuang to enter Weishan Lake at Hanzhuang bound for Nanyang and Jining (this course

8640-405: The Jizhou Canal. The Shanyang Canal originally opened onto the Yangtze a short distance south of Yangzhou . As the north shore of the Yangtze gradually silted up to create the sandbank island of Guazhou, it became necessary for boats crossing to and from the Jiangnan Canal to sail the long way around the eastern edge of that island. After a particularly rough crossing of the Yangtze from Zhenjiang,

8775-405: The Shanyin Canal excavated in Shaoxing by the Yue official Fan Li in the early 5th century BC during China's Spring and Autumn period . Despite the difficulty of connecting the route's various watersheds, the present route was completed with the construction of the Xixing Canal by the Jin official He Xun in the late 3rd century AD. The canal was an important artery of transport and supply for

8910-435: The Song and earlier periods, barge ships occasionally crashed and wrecked along the Shanyang Yundao section of the Grand Canal while passing the double slipways, and more often than not those were then robbed of the tax grain by local bandits. This prompted Qiao Weiyue, an Assistant Commissioner of Transport for Huainan , to invent a double-gate system known as the pound lock in the year 984. This allowed ships to wait within

9045-407: The Southern Song and Yuan. Longquan greenware is characterized by a thick unctuous glaze of a particular bluish-green tint over an otherwise undecorated light-grey porcellaneous body that is delicately potted. Yuan Longquan celadons feature a thinner, greener glaze on larger vessels with decoration and shapes derived from Middle Eastern ceramic and metalwares. These were produced in large quantities for

9180-414: The Sui dynasty, Yuwen Kai, advised the digging of a new canal that would run parallel to the existing canal, diverging from it at Chenliu ( Yanzhou ). The new canal was to pass not Xuzhou but Suzhou , to avoid connecting with the Si River and instead make a direct connection with the Huai River just west of Lake Hongze . With the recorded labor of five million people under the supervision of Ma Shumou,

9315-409: The Yangtze River. Zhejiang, as the heartland of the Jiangnan (Yangtze River Delta), remained the wealthiest area during the Six Dynasties (220 or 222–589), Sui and Tang. After being incorporated into the Sui dynasty , its economic richness was used for the Sui dynasty 's ambitions to expand north and south, particularly into Korea and Vietnam. The plan led the Sui dynasty to restore and expand

9450-428: The Yellow River flooded and changed its course , severing the course of the canal in Shandong. This was foreseen by a Chinese official in 1447, who remarked that the flood-prone Yellow River made the Grand Canal like a throat that could be easily strangled (leading some officials to request restarting the grain shipments through the East China Sea ). In 1855 the dikes of the canal were opened to flood advancing troops of

9585-415: The Yellow River. Such a case occurred in the year 858 when an enormous flood along the Grand Canal inundated thousands of acres of farmland and killed tens of thousands of people in the North China Plain . Such an unfortunate event could reduce the legitimacy of a ruling dynasty by causing others to perceive it as having lost the Mandate of Heaven ; this was a good reason for dynastic authorities to maintain

9720-505: The Yellow River—overseen by engineer Liang Rui—established canal lock gates to regulate water levels for the canal. Double slipways were installed to haul boats over when the difference in water levels was too great for the flash lock to operate. Similarly, by the year 600, there were major buildups of silt on the bottom of the Hong Canal, obstructing river barges whose drafts were too deep for its waters. The chief engineer of

9855-597: The canal at proper depth so that boats could travel through it. So a man-made lake was used to feed water to the Jiangnan section of the Grand Canal. It was protected by the Government from reclamation and any use of the lake water without proper taxation was deemed illegal. It was supposed to be protected from profitable exploitation, but because the government changed over the years, lake Lianhu had been reclaimed many times and it started to become more shallow. The government changed

9990-664: The canal joins the Hai River in the center of Tianjin City before turning north-west. In Tianjin, the canal heads northwest, for a short time following the course of the Yongding, a tributary of the Hai River , before branching off toward Tongzhou on the edge of the municipality of Beijing. It is here that the modern canal stops and that a Grand Canal Cultural Park has been built. During the Yuan dynasty,

10125-615: The canal will likely continue. The provincial governments of Shandong , Jiangsu , and Zhejiang undertook dredging intended to increase shipping capacity by 40 percent by 2012. The central government has also made the main route of the Grand Canal the eastern path of the South-North Water Diversion Project , using enormous pumping stations to redirect water from the Yangtze Delta to the drier north. The canal became greatly polluted during China's industrialization. By

10260-422: The canal. Around Hangzhou, for instance, a $ 250 million restoration project begun in 2001 improved water quality to the point where it no longer produces a noticeable odor and is once again capable of supporting some fauna. On 22 June 2014, UNESCO 's Conference on World Heritage listed the Grand Canal as a World Heritage Site . As well as its present-day course, fourteen centuries of canal-building have left

10395-569: The cities of Huai'an and Yangzhou . Here the land lying to the west of the canal is higher than its bed while the land to the east is lower. Historically the Shanghe region west of the canal has been prone to frequent flooding, while the Xiahe region to its east has been hit by less frequent but immensely damaging inundations caused by the failure of the Grand Canal levees. Recent works have allowed floodwaters from Shanghe to be diverted safely out to sea. Like

10530-589: The cities of Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou , where the Grand Canal of China enters from the northern border to end at Hangzhou. Another relatively flat area is found along the Qu River around the cities of Quzhou and Jinhua . Major rivers include the Qiangtang and Ou Rivers . Most rivers carve out valleys in the highlands, with plenty of rapids and other features associated with such topography. Well-known lakes include

10665-419: The collapse of the Tang dynasty in 907, the entire area of what is now Zhejiang fell under the control of the kingdom Wuyue established by King Qian Liu , who selected Hangzhou (a city in the modern day area of Zhejiang) as his kingdom's capital. Despite being under Wuyue rule for a relatively short period of time, Zhejiang underwent a long period of financial and cultural prosperity which continued even after

10800-580: The construction of the Middle Canal by Jin Fu. In 1566, to escape the problems caused by flooding of the Yellow River around Yutai (now on the western shore of Weishan Lake), the Nanyang New Canal was opened. It ran for 75 kilometers (47 mi) from Nanyang (now Nanyang Town, located in the center of Weishan Lake) to the small settlement of Liucheng (in the vicinity of modern Gaolou Village, Weishan County, Shandong) north of Xuzhou City. This change in effect moved

10935-417: The continuing prominence of Nanjing (then known as Jiankang), the settlement of Qiantang, the former name of Hangzhou, remained one of the three major metropolitan centers in the south to provide major tax revenue to the imperial centers in the north China. The other two centers in the south were Jiankang and Chengdu . In 589, Qiantang was raised in status and renamed Hangzhou. Following the fall of Wu and

11070-786: The control of the Japanese puppet state known as the Reorganized National Government of China . Following the Doolittle Raid , most of the B-25 American crews that came down in China eventually made it to safety with the help of Chinese civilians and soldiers. The Chinese people who helped them, however, paid dearly for sheltering the Americans. The Imperial Japanese Army began the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign to intimidate

11205-437: The country. Zhejiang was an important economic center of the empire's Jiangnan East Circuit and was considered particularly prosperous. Throughout the Tang dynasty , The Grand Canal had remained effective, transporting grains and material resources to North China plain and metropolitan centers of the empire. As the Tang dynasty disintegrated, Zhejiang constituted most of the territory of the regional kingdom of Wuyue . After

11340-604: The economically most developed state among the Three Kingdoms (220–280). The historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms records that Zhejiang had the best-equipped naval force. The story depicts how the states of Wei ( 魏 ) and Shu ( 蜀 ), lack of material resources, avoided direct confrontation with the Wu. In armed military conflicts with Wu, the two states relied intensively on tactics of camouflage and deception to steal Wu's military resources including arrows and bows. Despite

11475-644: The establishment of the Yuan dynasty in 1279 ended Hangzhou's political clout, but its economy continued to prosper. The famous traveler Marco Polo visited the city, which he called "Kinsay" (after the Chinese Jingshi , meaning "Capital City") claiming it was "the finest and noblest city in the world." Greenware ceramics made from celadon had been made in the area since the 3rd-century Jin dynasty , but it returned to prominence—particularly in Longquan —during

11610-520: The first major section of the Grand Canal was completed in the year 605 and was called the Bian Qu. The Grand Canal was fully completed from the years 604 to 609 under Emperor Yang , first by linking his southern capital Yangzhou northwest to Luoyang by the Tongji Canal ( t 通 濟 渠 , s 通 济 渠 , Tōngjì Qú ). He then proceeded to connect Yangzhou southeast to Suzhou and Hangzhou by

11745-463: The high concentration of locks gave it the nicknames chahe or zhahe , i.e. 'the river of locks'. Its great number of feeder springs (between two and four hundred, depending on the counting method and season of the year) also led to it being called the quanhe or 'river of springs'. This, the Grand Canal's first true summit section, was engineered by the Mongol Oqruqči in 1238 to connect Jining to

11880-415: The highest peak of the province, Huangmaojian Peak (1,929 meters or 6,329 feet), is located there. Other prominent mountains include Mounts Yandang , Tianmu , Tiantai and Mogan , which reach altitudes of 700 to 1,500 meters (2,300 to 4,900 ft). Valleys and plains are found along the coastline and rivers. The north of the province lies just south of the Yangtze Delta and consists of plains around

12015-690: The inaugural Party Secretary, was one of the leading voices against Mao's Cultural Revolution during the so-called February Countercurrent of 1967. Jiang Hua (term 1956–1968), was the "chief justice" on the Special Court in the case against the Gang of Four in 1980. Three provincial Party Secretaries since the 1990s have gone onto prominence at the national level. They include CPC General Secretary and President Xi Jinping (term 2002–2007), National People's Congress Chairman and former Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang (term 1998–2002), and Zhao Hongzhu (term 2007–2012),

12150-451: The kingdom fell. After Wuyue was conquered during the reunification of China, many shrines were erected across the former territories of Wuyue, mainly in Zhejiang, where the kings of Wuyue were memorialised, and sometimes, worshipped as being able to dictate weather and agriculture. Many of these shrines, known as "Shrine of the Qian King" or "Temple to the Qian King", still remain today, with

12285-467: The lake to become more profitable farmland which led to reclamations and agricultural irrigation using the lake. This began to lead to Lake Lianhu not being able to properly feed water to the Grand Canal. Loss of depth due to reclamation and maintenance costs became too high for the lake to become practical to use. Even though it was a man made lake it was still a beautiful sight. Many different people praised its beauty and various poems have been written about

12420-477: The lake. In recent years recreational uses for the lake have become more popular and may lead to the lake being restored. This southernmost section of the canal runs from Hangzhou in Zhejiang, where the canal connects with the Qiantang River, to Zhenjiang in Jiangsu, where it meets the Yangtze. After leaving Hangzhou heading north toward Beijing, the canal passes around the eastern border of Lake Tai , through

12555-476: The land against pirate incursions. Some of them have been preserved or restored, such as Pucheng in the south of the province ( Cangnan County ). Under the late Ming dynasty and the Qing dynasty that followed it, Zhejiang's ports were important centers of international trade. "In 1727 the to-min or 'idle people' of Cheh Kiang province (a Ningpo name still existing), the yoh-hu or 'music people' of Shanxi province ,

12690-401: The largest pre-modern industrial production center of the empire, Yangzhou was also the geographical midpoint along the north–south trade axis, and so became the major center for southern goods shipped north. One of the greatest benefits of the canal system in the Tang dynasty—and subsequent dynasties—was that it reduced the cost of shipping grain that had been collected in taxes (caoyun) from

12825-820: The late Ming dynasty and the Qing dynasty that followed it, Zhejiang's ports became important centers of international trade. It was occupied by the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese war and placed under the control of the Japanese puppet state known as the Reorganized National Government of China . After the establishment of the PRC, Zhejiang's economy became stagnant under Mao Zedong 's policies. Nevertheless, after China's economic reform , Zhejiang has grown to be considered one of China's wealthiest provinces, ranking fourth in GDP nationally and sixth by GDP per capita , with

12960-463: The lifelines of the port cities of Ningbo and Wenzhou. While Mao invested heavily in railroads in interior China, no major railroads were built in South Zhejiang, where transportation remained poor. Zhejiang benefited less from central government investment than some other provinces due to its lack of natural resources, a location vulnerable to potential flooding from the sea and an economic base at

13095-412: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grand_Canal&oldid=1257854733 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Grand Canal (China) The Grand Canal's main stem , known to

13230-414: The local prefect realized that a canal dug directly across Guazhou would reduce the journey time and thus make the crossing safer. The Yilou Canal was opened in 738 and still exists, though not as part of the modern Grand Canal route. The Grand Canal nominally runs between Beijing and Hangzhou over a total length of 1,794 km (1,115 mi); however, only the section from Hangzhou to Liangshan County

13365-463: The major cities of Jiaxing , Suzhou , Wuxi , and Changzhou before reaching Zhenjiang . The Jiangnan (or 'South of the Yangtze') Canal is heavily utilized by barge traffic bringing coal, containers and construction materials to the booming delta. It is generally a minimum of 100 meters wide in the congested city centers, and often two or three times this width in the neighboring countryside. In recent years, broad bypass canals have been dug around

13500-494: The major cities to reduce 'traffic jams'. The Suzhou section of the Jiangnan Canal flows through the western part of the city. It includes ten city gates and over 20 stone bridges of traditional design and historic areas that have been well preserved as well as temples and pavilions. The Inner Canal runs between the Yangtze and Huai rivers, skirting the Shaobo , Gaoyou , and Hongze lakes of central Jiangsu. This section connects

13635-600: The man of Yue') was transliterated into Chinese and recorded by authors in North China or inland China of Hebei and Henan around 528 BC. The song shows that the Yue people spoke a language that was mutually unintelligible with the dialects spoken in north and inland China. The Sword of Goujian bears bird-worm seal script . Yuenü (Chinese: 越女 ; pinyin: Yuènǚ ; Wade–Giles: Yüeh-nü ; lit. 'the Lady of Yue')

13770-458: The most in China. The capital Hangzhou marks the end of the Grand Canal and lies on Hangzhou Bay on the north of Zhejiang, which separates Shanghai and Ningbo . The bay contains many small islands collectively called the Zhoushan Islands . Hangzhou is a historically important city of China and is considered a World City with a "Beta+" classification according to GaWC . It includes

13905-616: The most popularly visited example being that near West Lake in Hangzhou. China's province of Zhejiang during the 940s was also the place of origin of the Hú family (Hồ in Vietnamese) from which the founder of the Hồ dynasty who ruled Vietnam, Emperor Hồ Quý Ly , came from. The Song dynasty re-established unity around 960. Under the Song, the prosperity of South China began to overtake that of North China. After

14040-536: The mountains to the west. The water flows from Beijing toward Tianjin, from Nanwang north toward Tianjin, and from Nanwang south toward Yangzhou. The water level in the Jiangnan Canal remains scarcely above sea level (the Zhenjiang ridge is 12 meters higher than that of the Yangtze River). Zhejiang Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China . Its capital and largest city

14175-420: The national average. Zhejiang, however, has been an epicenter of capitalist development in China and has led the nation in the development of a market economy and private enterprises. Northeast Zhejiang, as part of the Yangtze Delta, is flat, more developed and industrial. Zhejiang consists mostly of hills, which account for about 70% of its total area. Altitudes tend to be the highest to the south and west and

14310-581: The network which became the Grand Canal of China . The Canal regularly transported grains and resources from Zhejiang, through its metropolitan center Hangzhou (and its hinterland along both the Zhe River and the shores of Hangzhou Bay ) and from Suzhou and thence to the North China Plain . The débâcle of the Korean war led to Sui's overthrow by the Tang , who then presided over a centuries-long golden age for

14445-560: The north was lost to the Jurchen Jin dynasty in 1127 following the Jingkang Incident , Hangzhou became the capital of the Song dynasty under the name Lin'an , which was renowned for its prosperity and beauty, it was suspected to have been the largest city in the world at the time. From then on, northern Zhejiang and neighboring southern Jiangsu have been synonymous with luxury and opulence in Chinese culture. The Mongol conquest and

14580-482: The north-western and central parts of the province, sparing the rest of Zhejiang from the disastrous depopulation that occurred. In 1876, Wenzhou became Zhejiang's second treaty port. Jianghuai Mandarin speakers later came to settle in these depopulated regions of northern Zhejiang. During the Second Sino-Japanese War , which led into World War II , much of Zhejiang was occupied by Japan and placed under

14715-407: The notable West Lake . Various varieties of Chinese are spoken in Zhejiang, the most prominent being Wu Chinese . Zhejiang is also one of China's leading provinces in research and education. As of 2024 , two major cities in Zhejiang ranked in the world's top 200 cities (Hangzhou 13th and Ningbo 123rd) by scientific research output, as tracked by Nature Index . The province's name originates from

14850-499: The oncoming Jurchen invaders during the Jin–Song wars . Over a series of floods, this entirely shifted the river south of Shandong , capturing the course of the Si River and emptying the Yellow River into Hongze Lake and the East China Sea for centuries. The Jurchen Jin dynasty continually battled with the Song in this region. The warfare led to the dilapidation of the canal until

14985-567: The province is known as the "Land of Fish and Rice." True to its name, rice is the main crop, followed by wheat ; north Zhejiang is also a center of aquaculture in China, and the Zhoushan fishery is the largest fishery in the country. The main cash crops include jute and cotton and the province also leads the provinces of China in tea production. (The renowned Longjing tea is a product of Hangzhou.) Zhejiang's towns have been known for handicraft production of goods such as silk , for which it

15120-603: The province's dual party-government governing system, the Governor is subordinate to the secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party , colloquially termed the "Zhejiang CCP Party Chief ." Several political figures who served as Zhejiang's top political office of Communist Party Secretary have played key roles in various events in PRC history. Tan Zhenlin (term 1949–1952),

15255-490: The region during periods of disunity in medieval China and was particularly prosperous and vital during the Southern Song , who established their capital at Lin'an within present-day Hangzhou. During the Yuan , Ming , and Qing , the canal diminished in importance but was kept navigable until the development of railways and roads in the 19th and 20th century. Renovation of the canal for use by modern barges began in 2002,

15390-447: The removal of their court from Kuaiji to Jianye (present-day Nanjing ) and they continued development of the region and benefitted from influxes of refugees fleeing the turmoil in northern China. Industrial kilns were established and trade reached as far as Manchuria and Funan (southern Mainland Southeast Asia ). Zhejiang was part of the Wu during the Three Kingdoms . Wu (229–280), commonly known as Eastern Wu or Sun Wu, had been

15525-491: The route in case a flood or other disaster impeded the path of shipment. To ensure smooth travel of grain shipments, Transport Commissioner Liu Yan (in office from 763 to 779) had special river barge ships designed and constructed to fit the depths of each section of the entire canal. After the An Lushan rebellion (755–763), the economy of North China was greatly damaged and never recovered due to wars and to constant flooding of

15660-644: The second millennium BC. Instead, this area was populated by peoples collectively known as Dongyue. The kingdom of Yue began to appear in the chronicles and records written during the Spring and Autumn period . According to the chronicles, the kingdom of Yue was in Northern Zhejiang. Shiji claims that its leaders were descended from the Xia founder Yu the Great . The " Song of the Yue Boatman " ( Chinese : 越人歌 ; pinyin : Yuèrén Gē ; lit. 'Song of

15795-459: The settlement below Mount Kuaiji but authority over the Minyue hinterland was nominal at best and its Yue inhabitants largely retained their own political and social structures. At the beginning of the Three Kingdoms era (AD 220–280), Zhejiang was home to the warlords Yan Baihu and Wang Lang prior to their defeat by Sun Ce and Sun Quan , who eventually established the Kingdom of Wu . Despite

15930-451: The short lived Yuan dynasty . Zhejiang became part of the much larger Jiangzhe Province . The Ming dynasty , which drove out the Mongols in 1368, finally established the present day province of Zhejiang with its borders having little changes since this establishment. As in other coastal provinces, number of fortresses were constructed along the Zhejiang coast during the early Ming to defend

16065-468: The si-min or 'small people' of Kiang Su (Jiangsu) province and the Tanka people or 'egg-people' of Canton (to this day the boat population there), were all freed from their social disabilities and allowed to count as free men." "Cheh Kiang" is another romanization for Zhejiang. The Duomin (Chinese: 惰民 ; pinyin: duò mín ; Wade–Giles: to-min ) are a caste of outcasts in this province. During

16200-472: The southern end of the Huitong Canal. It rose to a height of 42 meters (138 ft) above the Yangtze, but environmental and technical factors left it with chronic water shortages until it was re-engineered in 1411 by Song Li of the Ming . Song Li's improvements, recommended by a local man named Bai Ying, included damming the rivers Wen and Guang and drawing lateral canals from them to feed reservoir lakes at

16335-473: The total length about 1,800 km (1,100 mi) and linking Hangzhou and Beijing with a direct north–south waterway for the first time. As in the Song and Jin era, the canal fell into disuse and dilapidation during the Yuan dynasty's decline. The Grand Canal as infrastructure has had influence on other architectural works in the west. The Erie Canal in North America is designed and draws inspiration from

16470-506: The turmoil of the Wu Hu uprising against the Jin dynasty (266–420) , most of elite Chinese families had collaborated with the non-Chinese rulers and military conquerors in the north. Some may have lost social privilege and took refuge in areas south of the Yangtze River. Some of the Chinese refugees from North China might have resided in areas near Hangzhou. For example, the clan of Zhuge Liang (181–234),

16605-426: The two following nights with reports of scuffles, officials said. Chen Hongming, a deputy head of Haining 's environmental protection bureau, said the factory's waste disposal had failed pollution tests since April. The environmental watchdog had warned the factory, but it had not effectively controlled the pollution, Chen added. Han Chinese make up the vast majority of the population and the largest Han subgroup are

16740-448: The use of the Grand Canal as the eastern path of the South-North Water Diversion Project —intended to provide clean potable water to the north—has led to regulations and several projects to improve water quality along the waterway. The greatest height on the canal is an elevation of 42 m (138 ft) above sea level reached in the foothills of Shandong. Ships in Chinese canals did not have trouble reaching higher elevations after

16875-648: The very summit, at a small town called Nanwang . In AD 369, General Huan Wen of the Eastern Jin dynasty connected the shallow river valleys of the Huai and the Yellow. He achieved this by joining two of these rivers' tributaries, the Si and the Ji respectively, at their closest point, across a low watershed of the Shandong massif. Huan Wen's primitive summit canal became a model for the engineers of

17010-408: Was US$ 1.15 trillion ( CN¥ 7.77 trilion), about 6.42% of the country's GDP and ranked 4th among province-level administrative units ; the province's primary, secondary and tertiary industries were worth CN¥232.48 billion (US$ 34.56 billion), CN¥3.3205 trillion (US$ 493.67 billion) and CN¥4.2185 trillion (US$ 627.18 billion) respectively. Its nominal GDP per capita was US$ 17,617 (CN¥118,496) and ranked

17145-566: Was a swordswoman from the state of Yue. To check the growth of the kingdom of Wu , Chu pursued a policy of strengthening Yue. Under King Goujian , Yue recovered from its early reverses and fully annexed the lands of its rival in 473 BC . The Yue kings then moved their capital center from their original home around Mount Kuaiji in present-day Shaoxing to the former Wu capital at present-day Suzhou . With no southern power to turn against Yue, Chu opposed it directly and, in 333 BC, succeeded in destroying it. Yue's former lands were annexed by

17280-528: Was another hub for refugees, given that the state of Shu had long been founded and ruled by political and military elites from the Central Plain and North China. Some refugees from North China might have found residence in South China depending on their social status and military power in the north. The rump Jin state or the Southern dynasties vied against some elite Chinese from the Central Plain and south of

17415-460: Was assigned a different name, all of which were popularized in travel songs of the period. The Manchus invaded China in the mid-17th century, allowed through the northern passes by the Chinese general Wu Sangui once the Ming capital at Beijing had fallen into the hands of a rebel army. The Manchus established the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), and under their leadership, the Grand Canal was overseen and maintained just as in earlier times. In 1855,

17550-478: Was assumed as a duty by each successive dynasty. The canal played a major role in periodically reuniting northern and southern China, and officials in charge of the canal and nearby salt works grew enormously wealthy. Despite damage from floods , rebellions , and wars , the canal's importance only grew with the removal of the capital to Khanbaliq under the Mongol Yuan and to Beijing under Yongle Emperor of

17685-629: Was completed by Emperor Yang of the Sui dynasty in AD 609, linking the fertile Jiangnan region in the south to his capital at Luoyang in the west and to his armies in the far north. His unsuccessful and unpopular wars and the massive amounts of conscripted labor involved in creating the canal were among the chief factors in the rapid fall of the Sui, but the connection of China's major watersheds and population centers proved enormously beneficial. Additional canals supplied Chang'an (now Xi'an ) even further west under

17820-583: Was completed except for areas around Ningbo by 2009, and was fully completed in late 2013. In November 2008, the Eastern Zhejiang Canal was added to the Grand Canal's UNESCO nomination and, in May 2013, was officially included as part of the Grand Canal and listed among the 7th group of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level by the Chinese government. In 2014, it was included with

17955-609: Was detailed at length in the Record of the Opening of the Canal ( t 《 開 河 記 》 , s 《 开 河 记 》 , Kāihéjì ). At this point, the Grand Canal continued to use noncontiguous artificial channels and both canalized and natural waterways rather than presenting a single continuous manmade canal. However, running alongside and parallel to the course of the canals was an imperial roadway with stables maintained at regular intervals to support

18090-544: Was in present-day Suzhou ), ventured north to attack the State of Qi . He ordered a canal to be constructed for trading purposes, as well as a means to ship ample supplies north in case his forces should engage the northern states of Song and Lu . This became known as the Han or Hangou Canal ( t 邗溝 , s 邗沟 , Hángōu ). Work began in 486 BC, from south of Yangzhou to north of Huai'an in Jiangsu, and within three years

18225-478: Was renovated almost in its entirety between 1411 and 1415 during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). A magistrate of Jining, Shandong sent a memorandum to the throne of the Yongle Emperor protesting the current inefficient means of transporting 4,000,000 dan (428,000,000 liters ) of grain a year by means of transferring it along several different rivers and canals in barge types that went from deep to shallow after

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