China's Grand Canal

For centuries, the power of Chinese emperors
rose and fell with their control of the Grand
Canal. Today, this waterway is shorter than it
once was, but it is still the longest man-made
river in the world. Importantly, the Grand
Canal continues to provide a vital cultural and
economic link for modern China.

Construction Begins The original canal system began around the
year 605. China's Emperor Yang realized
that he needed a better way to feed his army.
Specifically, he needed a way to move food
quickly from China's southern rice-growing
region to the country's north. So, the emperor
ordered the construction of the first section of
the Grand Canal, connecting existing canals,
lakes, and rivers. An estimated
one million people—mostly 1 If something deteriorates, it gets worse in some way.
2 A conduit is something that connects two or more people,
places, or things.

farmers—worked on the construction, which
took six years.

Over the next 500 years, the canal's importance
grew. However, by 1127, parts had begun to
deteriorate.1 In 1279, Kublai Khan began to
repair and build new parts of the canal. This
renovation created a more direct north–south
route to and from Beijing. Future rulers continued
to expand and improve the waterway, and it
eventually became a vital national lifeline.

In addition to moving rice around China,
the Grand Canal was an important cultural
conduit.2 Soldiers, merchants, and artists
transported ideas, regional foods, and
cultural practices from one part of China to
another. According to legend, this is how 3 Peking is the former name for Beijing.

Beijing acquired two of its best-known trademarks. Peking3 duck, a dish from
Shandong Province, and the Peking opera, from Anhui and Hubei regions,
were both brought north via the canal.

The Modern Canal For more than a thousand years, goods have been transported along the
Grand Canal. Even today, the country's watery highway plays an important
economic role in China. Boats continue to carry tons of coal, food, and other
goods to points between Hangzhou and Jining—now the northernmost city
the canal reaches. In addition, local governments—eager to increase tourism
and real estate4 development—are beautifying areas along the canal.

This development comes at a price, though. In Yangzhou, the city has torn
down almost all of the older canal-side buildings. Farther south in the cities
of Zhenjiang, Wuxi, and Hangzhou, the situation is similar. In Hangzhou,
for example, almost all of the ancient buildings have been demolished.
"Traditionally we talk about 18 main cities on the Grand Canal, and each had
something unique and special about it," explains Zhou Xinhua, the former
vice director of the Grand Canal museum in Hangzhou. "But now many of
these cities are all the same: a thousand people with one face."

In 2005, a group of citizens proposed that the historic Grand Canal be made
a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This status would protect both the waterway
and the architecture around it. "Every generation wants the next generation
to understand it, to look at its monuments," said Zhu Bingren, an artist who
cowrote this proposal. UNESCO status was officially granted in 2014. The
hope now is that the Grand Canal—one of the world's great engineering
accomplishments—will continue to link north and south China for centuries
to come.