On June 22， 2014， the Grand Canal was inscribed on the UNESCOs World Heritage List. According to UNESCOs Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention， the Grand Canal bears witness to the migration and movement of people， supports the mutual benefits and continuous interactions among goods， thoughts， knowledge， and values， and facilitates cultural exchange and interactions across time and space which are embodied in both tangible and intangible heritage.

 

It is said that the Great Wall and the Grand Canal are combined for the shape of the Chinese character “人” （ren， or human）. Geographically， the Grand Canal runs from Beijing in the north to Hangzhou in the south， consisting of nearly 1794kilometers of waterways that connect the Hai River in the north and the Qiantang River in the south. It flows through six provinces and municipalities， including Beijing， Tianjin， Hebei， Shandong， Jiangsu， and Zhejiang， linking five main river basins， namely the Hai River， the Yellow River， the Huai River， the Yangtze River， and the Qiantang River. The Grand Canal boasts a history of over 2500 years， dating back to as early as 486 BC when Fuchai， King of the State of Wu， ordered the construction of the Han Gou. Moreover， it is characterized by the cultures of States of Yan， Zhao， Qi and Lu， Central Plains and South of the Yangtze River. More significantly， the Grand Canal had a profound impact on national stability and unity， economic development， and cultural exchanges of ancient China， especially since the Sui Dynasty （581-618 AD）.

 

 

 

While the Grand Canal was designed for transportation in the first place， it brought about cultural exchanges as well. As the only waterway running from the north to the south in China， it witnessed a magnificent history of cultural exchanges across the country. For example， Yuan Opera originated in Beijing was brought down south along the Canal and evolved into the famous Nankun Opera， or the Kun Opera in the South. Later， Four Great Anhui Troupes traveled up north along the Canal with Hui Opera， which finally developed into Peking Opera， the Chinese national treasure. Throughout the history of Chinese civilization， it is easy to find out that a galaxy of magna opera was created in the regions along the Grand Canal， such as the four classic Chinese novels， and great poems of Xing Lu Nan and Qiang Jin Jiu by Li Bai and Chang Xiang Si by Bai Juyi. In this regards， the Grand Canal has served as a stage for cultural brilliance and a backbone of political， economic， and cultural exchanges， being a splendid chapter in the history of Chinese civilization.

 

 

 

The prosperous scenes in the Beijing section of the Grand Canal were described thoroughly in ancient poems， “cargo ships and merchant ships gather in crowds; the Lu River is filled with travelers from countries all over the world” and “Oars outnumber fish in the East Sea and masts outnumber bamboo shoots on the Nanshan Mountain.” In ancient times， the Grand Canal was a lifeline for grain transportation from south to north， business travels， military supplies allocation， and irrigation， ensuring the sound operation of the imperial government= and safeguarding the stability of the capital city. When the Grand Canal took shape in the Yuan Dynastry， the tribute grain （caoliang） to the capital city was shipped to Tongzhou first， the northern end of the Canal， and then out of Tongzhou through the Outer Bai River， and right to the outside of the Guangxi Gate of the capital city through the Wenyu River and the Ba River. （According to The History of the Yuan Dynasty， the Bai River was branched in the east of Tongzhou. The outer branch was joined by influxes of three other rivers， the Wenyu River， the Jinzha River and the Xiaozhong River， so it was also called the Si River [Si refers to four in Chinese]. The inner and outer branches， also known as the Inner Si River and the Outer Si River， converge at todays Hehezhan Village of Xiji Town.） After the Tonghui Canal was completed， the tribute grain was shipped through the Inner Bai River to the Quay of Zhangjiawan and then lightered along Tonghui Canal to Lake Jishuitan in the capital city. In late Yuan Dynasty， the Ba River and the Tonghui Canal became impassable due to siltation， so the central government built the New Canal of Jinkou with the end in Zhangjiawan. During the Yuan Dynasty， 13 large or medium-sized transit granaries were set up in Tongzhou， indicating the great importance of the town for canal transport of grain. Later， central governments of the Ming and the Qing Dynasties attached greater importance to the Grand Canal， so they established exclusive positions of the Canal Commander-in-Chief （Hedao Zongbing）， Governor of Canal Transport （Caoyun Zongdu） and Assistant Minister of Granaries （Cangchang Shilang） to keep the Canal safe and smooth without risks from the Yangtze River， for the purpose of improving canal regulation and transport， and granaries management. In addition， the Tonghui Canal was reconstructed and a new stone-paved highway connecting Tongzhou and the capital city was built， making water and land transport more convenient. Central governments also established palaces， posthouses， business and trading areas， and quays for cargo and passengers in an area that stretched over 5 kilometers alongside the Grand Canal， with clear specialization and hierarchy， to ensure the acceptance and transfer of goods and transactions between the south and the north. In the meantime， large granaries were set up in Tongzhou， in which offices directly administrated by the Ministries of Works， Revenue， War， and the Department of Supervision were established to manage and protect the canal transport. As a result， the Beijing section of the Grand Canal made a tremendous contribution to the stability and prosperity of the capital city.

 

Likening the Grand Canal to a person， the Canal itself is the body， while cultural relics and historic sites along the waterway， are bones and flesh. For instance， the Baifu Spring in Changping District， Lake Shichahai in Xicheng District， Lake Kunming， the Gaoliang River， and Randeng Tower， Xihaizi Park， and the Heritage Park of the Quay of Empress Dowager Xiao in Tongzhou District. Various relics of the canal culture survived and are well prserved today， including old waterways of several ancient canals， such as the Grand Canal， the Yongjiqu Canal， the Tonghui Canal， the Grain Canal of the Empress Dowager Xiao （From the East Gate of Nanjing to Zhangjiawan of Beijing）， and the Ba River， the mound wall of the Northern Qi Dynastry， the ancient city of Tongzhou， and the old town of Zhangjiawan. Furthermore， there are tremendous tangible and intangible heritage along the Canal， such as Shandong Guild， the relic wall of Zhongcang （the Central Granary）， Baotong Private Bank，Tongyun Bridge， Tongzhou Stone Tablet， dragon lanterns， bamboo hobbyhorses， Hanchuan （“boating on land”） folk dance， and Kaicao Festival， etc. Lets starting our trip along the Beijing section of the Grand Canal.