The Grandest of Canals

If the subject of great Chinese landmarks comes up in casual conversation, the first to come to the mind of most people is the Great Wall, but equally as magnificent as that imposing stone fortification is a man-made creation of water.

The Grand Canal was first developed about 2,500 years ago, and it is the world's oldest and longest canal, far surpassing the next two greatest canals of the world: the Suez and the Panama. During the Sui Dynasty (581-618), the waterway stretched for 5,000 kilometers from Beijing to the southern city of Hangzhou and made a turn about halfway to Luoyang, capital of the Sui Dynasty. Viewed from space the entire canal resembled an enormous bow.

During the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), Mongolian rulers relocated the capital to Beijing. The canal no longer flowed through Luoyang, but ran through six provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. With a total length of 1,794 kilometers, the waterway connected five large rivers, including the Yellow and YangtzeRivers.

Today, the northern half of the canal, running from Jining in the heart of ShandongProvince to Beijing, no longer serves for riverine traffic. The southern section, however, remains bustling due to typically adequate rainfall in the southern regions of China. For instance, upon the waters of the 112-kilometer section of the canal in Suqian, Jiangsu Province, 140 million tons of cargo were transported in 2005. That is four times the annual transportation volume of the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway and six times the annual transportation volume of the Beijing-Shanghai Railway.

Professor Wang Yun with Shandong's Liaocheng University said," [The Grand Canal] was deemed as an expressway in ancient times. As the only conduit running through the country from north to south, its contribution was unprecedented in ancient China."

By the Grace of a River

Boat dwellers on the Grand Canal. (Image: China Pictorial/Hou Heliang)

It has been said that Beijing is a"city borne of the river," because all bricks and stones used to construct the imperial palaces and mausoleums were transported from around the nation through the Grand Canal, as was grain and other supplies from South China.

Historical traces of the Grand Canal are everywhere in Beijing. At 22 Dongsishitiao in the city's Dongcheng District is a Chinese-style building named "Nanxin Storehouse." Although today humbled in the shadow of modern skyscrapers, the building has stood for more than 600 years. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1644), it served as an imperial granary used to store grain transported through the Grand Canal. Many places and streets in Beijing derive their names from the canal: Jishuitan (or Water Deposit Pond) used to be a wharf; Ciqiku (or Porcelain Storehouse) and Duanku (or Silk Storehouse) were warehouses and staging areas for tributes transported through the canal; and Nanheyan (or South Riverside) comprised the shores by which the canal flowed.

The 13-story Tongzhou Tower rises 45 meters in eastern Beijing's Tongzhou District, and the 1,400-year-old structure is regarded as the northernmost point of the Grand Canal.

From that point the Grand Canal flows southward to Tianjin. The intersection between the canal and the Haihe River served as the cradle for the city of Tianjin. In ancient times, large ships unloaded cargo in the city, and from there the goods and materials were transported to Beijing aboard smaller craft. The wharf, crowded with merchants, as well as taverns, theaters and guildhalls, became the commercial center of old Tianjin.

In the past, Spring Festival woodblock paintings created by skilled artists in southern Tianjin's YangliuqingTown sold well in North China. The town still preserves more than 10 old residential buildings. The past owners of the buildings were merchants dealing in salt along the Grand Canal. As time passed, Tianjin became a requisite waypoint for grain and silk to be transported from the south to the north. It was the Grand Canal that brought prosperity to Tianjin.

The Liaocheng Link

The Grand Canal running through urban Jining. (Image: China Pictorial/Hou Heliang)

The old urban district of Liaocheng, Shandong Province, spans a single square kilometer. Standing on the intersection of the district's latitudinal and longitudinal axes is the Guangyue Tower. Around the old district is the five-square-kilometer Dongchang Lake. The lake is surrounded by the new district.

To go from the new district to the old, one must cross a long bridge. There are almost no high structures in the old district, and the 33-meter-high Guangyue Tower that was constructed in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) remains the tallest building there. Besides tall columns made of single phoebe nanmu trunks and gorgeously painted ceilings, the tower also features incredible craftsmanship - and not a single nail. Standing on the tower, one can still perceive past might and glory. Looking into the distance, one can see prosperous cityscapes on the opposite bank of the misty Dongchang Lake.

Setting out from Dongchang Lake and boating along the Grand Canal, one will see a multitude of archaized buildings behind marble balustrades on the stone-laid banks. After passing the two wharfs where Qing-Dynasty Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong disembarked, one will reach the Shanxi-Shaanxi Guildhall. In the past, savvy merchants from Shanxi and Shaanxi Provinces were expert at sniffing out profitable transactions. For them, the prosperous cities along the Grand Canal were islands of great opportunity.

Maritime Movement

The Canal Dam on Weishan Lake. (Image: China Pictorial/Hou Heliang) Perhaps few have heard of the city of Jining, but more commonly known is Qufu, the hometown of Confucius. In fact, Qufu is under the jurisdiction of Jining. The underdeveloped prefecture-level city in Shandong boasts the province's largest freshwater lake, WeishanLake. It is at Jining that the southern section of the Grand Canal opens up to navigation.

The Grand Canal runs in the west of Jining. From a vantage point on one of the bridges crossing the canal, one may observe lighter barges cruising on the peaceful water, several ships berthed at the dock, while perhaps workers at the nearby boatyard are busy constructing an iron ship.

In Jining are 18 bridges, including the Qingping, Yudai, Yutang and Caoqiao. Adjacent the Dongdasi Bridge is the Dongda Mosque, evidence of ethnic integration along the canal. Owing to the traffic convenience offered by the canal, Hui people from around the country settled there. The small mosque houses many stone steles with Arabic inscriptions, adding an ornamental and solemn ambience. The TaibaiTower, honoring the memory of Li Bai, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), stands close to the Yudai Bridge. Li Bai lived in Jining for 23 years, and he often exchanged views with another renowned poet, Du Fu, who resided in the same city for eight years.

Today, Jining still preserves its charming Bamboo Lane. The thriving river transportation along the Grand Canal allowed indigenous southern plants, like bamboo, to be introduced to the north. However, today's Bamboo Lane is actually a reconstruction. According to local residents, along the original Bamboo Lane were storied buildings designed in the architectural style of South China. Now along the lane are rows of bungalows. In front of roadside shops are bamboo-woven utensils, such as baskets, dustbins and brooms. Usually, producers or sellers of such utensils are aged people.

A Poetic Place

An aquatic farm on Weishan Lake. (Image: China Pictorial/Hou Heliang)Unlike the section of the Grand Canal in Shandong, the section running through Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces features plentiful water. The canal connects the existent rivers in the two provinces. From north to south, the Grand Canal links Xuzhou, Suqian, Huai'an, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Changzhou, Wuxi and SuzhouCities in Jiangsu Province, which combined generate two-thirds of the province's total GDP.

The city of Yangzhou is as old as the Grand Canal. About 2,500 years ago, in today's Yangzhou, King Fu Chai of Wu State became the first leader to dig the canal for military transportation. Yangzhou is also where Tang-Dynasty Monk Jianzhen set out to sail toward Japan. During the Qing Dynasty, the city developed into an international harbor crowded with merchants from around the world. At the time, it was one of the world's 10 major metropolises, with a population exceeding 500,000.

To grasp the degree of affection Emperor Yangdi of the Sui Dynasty held for Yangzhou, one must visit Slender West Lake. There, wild flowers in golden and purple colors sway amidst humid breeze, egrets perch in leisure on the sandbars, and 24 exquisitely-designed bridges cast their reflections upon the water. Unluckily, hydrangea hortensia, popularly called "jade flower," was not blossoming when this writer visited. I could only conjecture how Emperor Yangdi loved this plant with a florescence lasting for only 15 days.
The Grand Canal outside urban Yangzhou still bustles. As loud and deep whistles resound through the air, a fleet of ships cruise past low in the water and disappear into the distance. Several fishing boats are berthed under the bridge. A middle-aged woman hangs clothes on a line to dry in the sunlight while a pup runs about at her feet. On the nearby bank, an old man repairs a bicycle.

An elderly gentleman surnamed Gao, who moved from Huai'an to Yangzhou more than a decade ago, told me that he now lives on a boat and earns his living by retailing coal that he purchased from coal barges cruising on the Grand Canal. A local boatman said he makes his living by fishing on the river. As I queried him on the water quality, he replied, "Don't worry. The fish here are edible."
Throughout its history, the Grand Canal has cast a deep influence on many cities, like Changzhou, Wuxi and Suzhou. And across the land, many pavilions, bridges, pagodas and temples associate their legends with the canal.

Hangzhou Proclamation

The southernmost section of the Grand Canal terminates in Hangzhou. On May 24, 2006, based on a 10-day survey of the Grand Canal, a delegation organized by the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference published the Hangzhou Proclamation. The prelude of the proclamation in part states:"As a great project completed by laboring people of ancient China, the Grand Canal is a precious material and spiritual treasure left by our ancestors and a living, floating heritage significant to all mankind... Throughout its more than 2,000 years of history, the Grand Canal has made great dedication to China's economic development, national unification, social progress and cultural prosperity. Even now it is still playing an important role."
In a 2005 letter issued to the mayors of the 18 cities along the Grand Canal, three famed experts in the protection of cultural relics said,"It isn't an overstatement to say that the Grand Canal is equal to the Great Wall in historical and cultural value and in historical contribution to China's development."

In the past, the Great Wall played an important role in military affairs, and the Grand Canal served as a corridor for economic prosperity and a conduit for cultural exchange. Today the regions along the canal remain of great political, economic and cultural significance.