Back القناة الصينية الكبرى Arabic القناه الصينيه الكبرى ARZ Gran Canal de China AST Grand Canal (Tsina) BCL Вялікі канал Кітая BE Велик китайски канал Bulgarian চীনের মহাখাল Bengali/Bangla Gran Canal (Xina) Catalan Grand Canal (kanal sa Pangmasang Republika sa Tśina, lat 39,90, long 116,73) CEB Velký kanál Czech
| Grand Canal of China | |
|---|---|
&sq=crain_ford&lang=en&file=File:Wanning_Bridge_1.jpg) The canal in Beijing, by the Wanning Bridge. | |
&sq=crain_ford&lang=en&file=File:Grand-Canal.png) Courses of the Grand Canal | |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 1,776 km (1,104 miles) |
| History | |
| Construction began | Sui dynasty |
| Geography | |
| Start point | Beijing |
| End point | Hangzhou |
| Connects to | Hai River, Yellow River, Huai River, Yangtze River, Qiantang River |
| Official name | The Grand Canal |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, iii, iv, vi |
| Designated | 2014 (38th session) |
| Reference no. | 1443 |
| Region | Asia-Pacific |
| Grand Canal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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&sq=crain_ford&lang=en&file=File:Grand_Canal_(Chinese_characters).svg) "Grand Canal" in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) Chinese characters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 大运河 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 大運河 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | "Great Transport River" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 京杭大运河 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 京杭大運河 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Grand Canal (Chinese: 大运河; pinyin: Dà yùnhé) is a system of interconnected canals linking various major rivers in North and East China, serving as an important waterborne transport infrastructure between the north and the south during Medieval and premodern China. It is the longest artificial waterway in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Grand Canal's main stem, known to 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 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, 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 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 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 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 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 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.[1] Ships in Chinese canals did not have trouble reaching higher elevations after the Song official and engineer Qiao Weiyue invented the pound lock in the 10th century.[2] 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).[3][4]