Ancient Canal

The Grand Canal of (A communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern Asia; the most populous country in the world) China, also known as the Jing-Hang Grand Canal () is the largest ancient (Long and narrow strip of water made for boats or for irrigation) canal or artificial (A large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)) river in the world.

in the year of (Click link for more info and facts about 604) 604, (Click link for more info and facts about Emperor Yang Guang) Emperor Yang Guang of (Click link for more info and facts about Sui Dynasty) Sui Dynasty left (A city of central China; capital of ancient Chinese empire 221-206 BC) Chang'an (in (A city of central China; capital of ancient Chinese empire 221-206 BC) Xi'an), the capital, and made his rounds in (A city in east central China; the capital of ancient China during several dynasties) Luoyang. in (Click link for more info and facts about 605) 605, the emperor gave an order to build two projects: transferring the (A seat of government) capital from Chang’an to (A city in east central China; the capital of ancient China during several dynasties) Luoyang (in (Click link for more info and facts about Henan) Henan) and excavating the Grand Canal linking (Capital of the People's Republic of China in the Hebei province in northeastern China; 2nd largest Chinese city) Beijing and (A city of eastern China on Hangzhou Bay; regarded by Marco Polo as the finest city in the world) Hangzhou. It took over six years to build the Grand Canal linking all the canals along it and connecting (Click link for more info and facts about Haihe) Haihe, (A major river of Asia in northern China; flows generally eastward into the Yellow Sea; carries large quantities of yellow silt to its delta) Huang He (Yellow River), (Click link for more info and facts about Huaihe) Huaihe, (The longest river of Asia; flows eastward from Tibet into the East China Sea near Shanghai) Yangtze and (Click link for more info and facts about Qiantangjiang) Qiantangjiang rivers. The Grand Canal starts north in (Capital of the People's Republic of China in the Hebei province in northeastern China; 2nd largest Chinese city) Beijing and ends south in Hangzhou of (Click link for more info and facts about Zhejiang) Zhejiang with a total length of 1,794 (A metric unit of length equal to 1000 meters (or 0.621371 miles)) kilometers (1115 (A unit of length equal to 1760 yards) miles), passes (Capital of the People's Republic of China in the Hebei province in northeastern China; 2nd largest Chinese city) Beijing, (A major industrial center in northeastern China on the Grand Canal near the Yellow Sea; 3rd largest city in China) Tianjin, (A populous province in northeastern China) Hebei, (Click link for more info and facts about Shandong) Shandong, (Click link for more info and facts about Jiangsu) Jiangsu and (Click link for more info and facts about Zhejiang) Zhejiang.

According to the writings published by Père Gandar, the total length of the canal is 3630 (Chinese distance measure; approximately 0.5 kilometers) li, or about 1200 miles. A rough measurement, taking, account only of the main bends of the canal, makes its length 850 miles. After leaving (A city of eastern China on Hangzhou Bay; regarded by Marco Polo as the finest city in the world) Hangzhou the canal passes round the eastern border of the (Click link for more info and facts about Lake Tai) Lake Tai, surrounding in its course the beautiful city of (Click link for more info and facts about Suzhou) Suzhou, and then trends in a generally north-westerly direction through the fertile districts of (Click link for more info and facts about Jiangsu) Jiangsu as far as Jingjiang on the (The longest river of Asia; flows eastward from Tibet into the East China Sea near Shanghai) Yangtze.

in this, the southern section, the slope is gentle and water is plentiful (from 7 feet at low water to 11 feet, and occasionally 13 feet at high water). Between Suzhou and Jingjiang the canal is often over 100 feet wide, and its sides are in many places faced with stone. It is spanned by fine stone bridges, and near its banks are many memorial arches and lofty (An Asian temple; usually a pyramidal tower with an upward curving roof) pagodas.

in the central portion of the canal, that is between Jingjiang and Qingjiangpu, at which latter place it crosses the dry channel which marks the course of the (A major river of Asia in northern China; flows generally eastward into the Yellow Sea; carries large quantities of yellow silt to its delta) Huang He (Yellow River) before 1852, the current is strong and difficult to ascend in the upward (northern) journey. This part of the canal skirts several lakes and is fed by the Huai He as it issues from the Xingzuo lake. The country lying west of the canal is higher than its bed; while the country east is lower than the canal, The two regions are known respectively as Shanghe (above the river) and Xiahe (below the river). Waste weirs opening on the Xiahe (one of the great rice-producing areas of China) discharge the surplus water in flood seasons.

The northern and considerably the longest section of the canal, extends from the old bed of the Yellow river to Tianjin. It largely utilizes existing rivers and follows their original windings. Between Xingjiangpu and the present course of the Yellow river the canal trends north-northwest, skirting the highlands of (Click link for more info and facts about Shandong) Shandong. in this region it passes through a series of lagoons, which in summer form one lake -- Zhouyang. North of that lake on the east bank of the canal, is the city of Ziningzhou. About 25 miles north of that city the highest level of the canal is reached at the town of Nan Wang. Here the river Wen enters the canal from the east, and about 30 miles farther north the Yellow river is reached. on the west side of the canal, at the point where the Yellow river now cuts across it, there is laid down in Chinese maps of the (Click link for more info and facts about 18th century) 18th century a dry channel which is described as being followed by the Yellow river before it took the channel it abandoned in 1851-1853.

The passage of the Yellow river to the part of the canal north of this stream is difficult, and can only be effected at certain levels of the river. Frequently the waters of the river are either too low or the current is too strong to permit a passage. Leaving this point the canal passes through a well-wooded and hilly country west of Dongping Zhou and east of Dongchang Fu. At Linjing Zhou it is joined at right angles by the Wei river in the midst of the city. Up to this point, i.e. from Qingjiangbu to Linjing Zhou, a distance of over 300 miles, navigation is difficult and the water-supply often insufficient. The differences of level, 20 to 30 feet, are provided for by barrages over which the boats -- having discharged their cargo -- are hauled by windlasses. Below the junction with the Wei the canal borrows the channel of the river and again becomes easily navigable. Crossing the frontier into Zhili, between De Zhou and Zang Zhou, which it passes to the west, it joins the Beihe at Tianjin, after having received the waters of the Geduo river in the neighbourhood of Qing Jian .

The most ancient part of the canal is the section between the (The longest river of Asia; flows eastward from Tibet into the East China Sea near Shanghai) Yangtze and the (Click link for more info and facts about Huai He) Huai He. This part is thought, on the strength of a passage in one of the books of (Chinese philosopher (circa 551-478 BC)) Confucius, to have been built c. 486 BC. It was repaired and enlarged in the (Click link for more info and facts about 3rd century) 3rd century AD. The southern part, between the (The longest river of Asia; flows eastward from Tibet into the East China Sea near Shanghai) Yangtze and (A city of eastern China on Hangzhou Bay; regarded by Marco Polo as the finest city in the world) Hangzhou, was built early in the (Click link for more info and facts about 7th century) 7th century AD (initially named as Jiang Nan He (江南河)). The northern part is stated to have been constructed in the years 1280 to 1283. The northern portion of the canal is now of little use as a means of communication between north and south. It is badly built, neglected and charged with the mud-laden waters of the (A major river of Asia in northern China; flows generally eastward into the Yellow Sea; carries large quantities of yellow silt to its delta) Yellow River. The central and southern portions of the canal are very largely used.

Ancient Canal to Play Major Role in China's Water Diversion Project

The 1,747-km Grand Canal from Beijing in north China to Hangzhou in east China, the longest and the oldest man-made canal in the world, will be the main channel serving the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in the country.

The massive water diversion project, whose construction started Friday and will last 50 years, aims at diverting water from the watery south to the thirsty north of China to ensure a water supply for agricultural and industrial production and people's daily use.

With a total investment of about 486 billion yuan (about 59 billion US dollars), the project will divert water from three places respectively on the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze, China's longest river, to destinations in the north.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal will be the main channel for the eastern line of the project.

once the project is completed, a total of 44.8 billion cubic meters of water will be annually channeled from the Yangtze to thenorth of China. Then, the Beijing-Hangzhou canal will be navigablefor 1,000-ton ships.

Built 2,500 years ago, the Grand Canal connects Beijing and Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, and runs through the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Hebei and the municipality of Tianjin.

The canal began diverting water from the south to the north in the 1960s. The Jiangdu water pumping station, built where the canal meets the Yangtze River, is the largest water pumping station in Asia. It diverts 473 cubic meters of water a second from the river into the canal.

The ancient canal has played an important role in transport between the south and the north. The volume of freight transportedthrough the canal in northern Jiangsu Province alone is nearly 100million tons a year.