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China Grand Canal |
 China Grand Canal is one of the greatest projects constructed in ancient China. China Grand Canal is the world's oldest and longest canal, far surpassing the next two grand canals of the world: Suez and Panama Canal. China Grand Canal begins in the north at Beijing and ends at Hangzhou. This has earned it the name of the Jing-Hang Canal. The famous China Grand Canal is 1,795 Km (1,114 miles) long with 24 locks and some 60 bridges. The building of the Grand Canal in China began in 486 B.C. during the Wu Dynasty.China Grand Canal was extended during the Qi Dynasty, and later by Emperor Yangdi of Sui Dynasty during six years of furious construction from 605-610 AD. In 604 AD, Emperor Yangdi of the Sui dynasty made a tour to Luoyang. In the second year, he moved the capital to Luoyang and ordered the canalization of the Grand Canal. This task lasted for six years and thousands of labors involved in it. Finally, those original scrappy canals were joined up and the Grand Canal formed.
Tangqi town in Yuhang county of Hangzhou is a famous ancient town on the Grand Canal in China. Till today, 300-year-old seven-arched Tongji Bridge and the ancient streets along the canal are well preserved.
The Grand Canal communicating Yangtze River, Yellow River, Huaihe River, Haihe  River and Qiantang River, flows through Beijing,Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang with Hangzhou at its southernmost end. Since most of China's major rivers flow from west to east, the China Grand Canal running north and south provides an important connector between several minor river systems, being restored as a water-diversion conduit. The China Grand Canal continues to function as an important waterway, connecting Hangzhou with distant Beijing (in 610 AD); it casts a living portrait of ancient Chinese life that remain much the same today.
From the aspects of improving communication between north and south, promoting economic and cultural exchange and strengthening the unification of the country, China Grand Canal, like The Great Wall, is an extremely stupendous project in the history of Chinese civilization. OK, come to see China Grand Canal yourself if you like. |
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