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The Grand Canal of China (simplified Chinese: 大运河; traditional Chinese: 大運河; pinyin: Dà Yùnhé), also known as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal (simplified Chinese: 京杭大运河; traditional Chinese: 京杭大運河; pinyin: Jīng Háng Dà Yùnhé) is the longest ancient canal or artificial river in the world. It passes through the cities of Beijing and Tianjin and the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The oldest parts of the canal date back to the 5th century BC.

History

Early History

In the late Spring and Autumn Period (722-481 BC), Fu Chai, the Duke of Wu (present-day Suzhou), ventured north to conquer the neighbouring state of Qi. He ordered a canal be constructed to transport soldiers. This became known as the Han Gou, or 'Han-country Conduit'. Work began in 486 BC south of Yangzhou in Jiangsu, and within three years the Han Gou had connected the Yangtze River to the Huai River by means of existing waterways, lakes and marshes. By the middle of the fourth century AD, its winding course had been rationalised into a straighter canal, the Shanyang River, which took its name from its terminus on the Huai.

The Grand Canal in the Sui Dynasty

The Grand Canal as we see it today was in great part a creation of the Sui dynasty (581-618), a result of the migration of China’s core economic and agricultural region away from the Yellow River valley and toward what is now Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Its main role throughout its history was the transport of grain to the capital. Over a period of years from around 604 to around 610, Emperor Yang Guang (or Sui Yangdi) of the Sui dynasty ordered a number of canals be dug in a ‘Y’ shape, from Hangzhou in the south to termini in (modern) Beijing and in the capital region along the Yellow River valley. When the canal was completed it linked the river systems of the Qiantang River, the Yangtze River, the Huai River, the Yellow River, the Wei River and the Hai River. Its southern section, running between Hangzhou and the Yangtze, was named the Jiangnan River (the river ‘South of the Yangtze’). The canal’s central portions stretched from Yangzhou to Luoyang: the section between the Yangtze and the Huai continued to be the Shanyang River; the next section connected the Huai to the Yellow and was called the Tongji Channel. The northernmost portion, linking Beijing and Luoyang, was named the Yongji Channel and was used to transport troops to what is now the North Korean border region for the Goguryeo-Sui War. It should be remembered that the Grand Canal at this time was not a continuous, man-made canal but a collection of often non-contiguous artificial cuts and canalised or natural rivers.

The Grand Canal in Later Dynasties

After the An Shi Rebellion during the Tang dynasty (618-907), the economy of north China was greatly damaged and never recovered due to wars and to constant floodings of the Yellow River. The Grand Canal became the main route for the shipping of tax grain from the Yangtze River Delta to North China. The city of Kaifeng grew to be a major hub, later becoming the capital of the Song dynasty (960-1279).

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 700km (making the total length about 1800km) and linking Hangzhou and Beijing in a direct north-south waterway for the first time. The course of the Grand Canal has changed little in the intervening centuries. It was renovated almost in its entirety between 1411 and 1415 during the Ming dynasty.

In 1855, the Yellow River flooded and changed its course, severing the course of the canal in Shandong. 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, the Grand Canal has not fully recovered from this disaster. 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. Currently, the section from Hangzhou to Jining is navigable.

Modern Course

Although, as mentioned above, only the section from Hangzhou to Jining is navigable, the Grand Canal nominally runs between Beijing and Hangzhou over a total length of 1,794 km (1,115 miles). Its course is today nominally divided into seven sections. From south to north these are the Jiangnan Canal, the Li Canal, the Zhong Canal, the Lu Canal, the South Canal, the North Canal, and the Tonghui River.

The Jiangnan Canal

The Jiangnan Canal

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 the canal passes around the eastern border of Lake Tai, through the major cities of Jiaxing, Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou before reaching Zhenjiang. The Jiangnan (or ‘South of the Yangtze’) Canal is very heavily used by barge traffic bringing coal and construction materials to the booming delta. It is generally a minimum of 100 metres wide in the congested city centres, and often two or three times this width in the countryside beyond. In recent years, broad bypass canals have been dug around the major cities to reduce ‘traffic jams’.

The Li Canal

This ‘Inner Canal’ runs between the Yangtze and Huai'an in Jiangsu, skirting the Shaobo, Gaoyou and Hongze lakes of central Jiangsu. Here the land lying to the west of the canal is higher than its bed while the land to the east is lower. Traditionally 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 failure of the Grand Canal levees. Recent works have allowed floodwaters from Shanghe to be safely diverted out to sea.

The Zhong Canal

The canal in Jining City

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 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.

The Lu Canal

At Weishan Lake, both courses enter Shandong province. From here to Linqing, the canal is called the Lu or ‘Shandong’ Canal. It crosses a series of lakes - Zhaoyang, Dushan and Nanyang - which nominally form a continuous body of water. At present, water shortages mean that the lakes are often largely dry land. North of the northernmost Nanyang Lake is the city of Jining. Further on, about 30km north of Jining, the highest elevation of the canal (38.5m above sea level) is reached at the town of Nanwang. In 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 50km further north, passing close by Dongping Lake, the canal reaches the Yellow River. By this point waterless, it no longer communicates with the river. It reappears again in Liaocheng City on the north bank where, intermittently flowing through a renovated stone channel, it reaches the city of Linqing on the Shandong-Hebei border.

The Southern Canal

The junction of the Lu Canal and South Canal

The fifth section of the canal extends from Linqing to Tianjin, following the course of the canalised Wei River. Though one of the northernmost sections, its name derives from its position relative to Tianjin. The Wei River at this point is very heavily polluted, and 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 visitors might see the canal as a deep waterway in these city centres, its depth is maintained by weirs and the canal is in fact all but dry where it passes through the surrounding countryside. Finally, the canal joins the Hai River in Tianjin city centre, where it turns north-westward.

The Northern Canal and Tonghui River

In Tianjin the canal heads northwest, following for a short time the course of the Yongding, a tributary of the Hai River, before branching off toward Tongzhou on the edge of Beijing municipality. It is here that the modern canal stops and that a Grand Canal Cultural Park has been built. During the Yuan dynasty a further canal, 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 it was impossible for ships to travel from Tongzhou to Beijing. Tongzhou became the north shipping terminus of the canal. Cargos were unloaded at Tongzhou and transported to Beijing by land. The Tonghui river still exists as a wide, concrete lined storm-channel and drain for the suburbs of Beijing.

Elevations

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 1m below sea level at Hangzhou to 38.5m above at its summit. At Beijing it reaches 27m, fed by streams flowing downhill from 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.

Uses

Transportation

During the Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368-1644), and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, the Grand Canal served as the main artery between northern and southern China and was essential for the transport of grain to Beijing. Although it was mainly used for shipping grain, it also transported other commodities and the corridor along the canal developed into an important economic belt. Records show that, at its height, every year more than 8,000 boats transported 4 to 6 million dan (240-360,000 tons) of grain. The convenience of transport also enabled rulers to lead inspection tours to southern China. In the Qing dynasty, emperors Kangxi and Qianlong made twelve trips to the south, on all occasions but one reaching Hangzhou.

The Grand Canal also enabled cultural exchange and political integration to mature between the north and south of China. The canal even made a distinct impression on some of China's early European visitors. Marco Polo recounted the Grand Canal's arched bridges as well as the warehouses and prosperous trade of its cities in the 13th century (though be aware that doubts have been cast on Polo’s claims). The famous Roman Catholic missionary Matteo Ricci travelled from Nanjing to Beijing on the canal at the end of 16th century.

Since Liberation in 1949, the canal has been used primarily to transport vast amounts of bulk goods such as bricks, gravel, sand, diesel and coal. The Jianbi shiplocks on the Yangtze are currently handling some 75,000,000 tons each year, and the Li Canal is forecast to reach 100,000,000 tons in the next few years.

The South-North Water Transfer Project

The Grand Canal is currently being upgraded to serve as the Eastern Route of the South-North Water Transfer Project. Water from the Yangtze will be drawn into the canal in Jiangdu City, and will then be fed uphill by pumping stations along the route and through a tunnel under the Yellow River, from where it can flow downhill to reservoirs near Tianjin. Construction on the Eastern Route officially began on December 27, 2002, and water is supposed to reach Tianjin by 2012.