The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is the longest man-made river in the world and one of the oldest canals. Together with the Great Wall of Wan Li, it is known as the two major ancient projects in China.

geographical position

The Beijing-Hangzhou Canal starts from Beijing in the north and ends in Hangzhou in the south. It runs through Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and connects five major water systems: Haihe River, Yellow River, Huaihe River, Yangtze River and Qiantang River. Total length 1794 km.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal consists of artificial rivers and some rivers and lakes, and the whole journey can be divided into seven sections:

(1) Tonghui River; (2) North Canal; (3) South Canal; (4) Lu Canal; (5) the middle canal; (6) Li Yunhe; (7) Jiangnan Canal.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Universiade, as the main artery of north-south traffic, has played a great role in history. The navigation of the canal has promoted the rapid development of coastal cities.

At present, the navigation mileage of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal is 1442 km, of which the annual navigation mileage is 877 km, mainly distributed in Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces south of the Yellow River.

Like the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, the Hangzhou Grand Canal starts from Beijing in the north and ends in Hangzhou in the south. It flows through six provinces and cities of Beijing, Hebei, Tianjin, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, with a total length of 1,794 kilometers, ten times longer than the Suez Canal and twenty times longer than the Panama Canal. It is the longest artificial canal in the world.

End point, into Qiantang River.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal flows through Beijing, Tongzhou, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Zhenjiang, Qingjiang, Yangzhou, Taierzhuang, Linqing, Suzhou, Jiaxing, Xuancheng, Huai 'an, Xuzhou, Liaocheng, Jining, Dezhou and Cangzhou 18 urban areas.

Tongzhou ancient poem goes: A tower shadow recognizes Tongzhou. The burning lighthouse stands at the northern end of the Grand Canal and is a landmark building in Jingmen Tongzhou. Tianjin North Canal and South Canal meet in Tianjin, where they are sent from Haihe River to Bohai Sea. According to records, during the developed period of water transportation, the North Canal from Tianjin to Tongzhou carried 20,000 grain ships every year, with officers and men 1.2 million, including 30,000 merchant ships. The opening of the waterway has enabled the small Zhigu village to rapidly develop into a well-known "Tianjinwei".

The intersection of Zhenjiang, Yangzhou Yangtze River and Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Liaocheng Lake and its rivers account for 1/3 of the urban area, and are called "Venice in the north of China", which is very rare in northern cities, among which the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is indispensable. Suzhou "Suzhou Lake is ripe and the world is full". The opening of the canal made Suzhou rich in water and food. At present, there are passenger routes to and from Suzhou-Hangzhou section of Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. The entrance of Huai 'an Grand Canal, under the pier of Guzhen on the east bank of the Canal, is the former residence of The Journey to the West author Wu Cheng'en.

history

The excavation of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. At that time, in order to expand the sphere of influence to the west, He Lv, the king of Wu, ordered the excavation of the Xu Xi from Taihu Lake to the Yangtze River.

As early as more than 2,400 years ago, Wu fought for the Northern Expedition to Qi, and dug a canal (named Hangou) near Yangzhou, Jiangsu. On this basis, it continued to develop and extend from north to south, especially after the second large-scale expansion and transformation in Sui and Yuan Dynasties, and basically completed the scale of today's Beijing-Hangzhou Canal. Many sections of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal use the original natural rivers and lakes, and some sections are artificially excavated. The canal water flow is mainly replenished by connected natural rivers.

When I arrived in (Yang Guang), it is said that in order to see the Qionghua in Yangzhou and the transportation of southern grain to the north, a canal was dug from Jinghuai section to Jiangnan, with a total length of more than 2,000 kilometers. In the Yuan Dynasty, most of the capital of the Yuan Dynasty (now Beijing) had to dig canals to transport grain from the south to the north. For this reason, three sections of rivers have been dug successively, and the horizontal canal of the Sui Dynasty with Luoyang as the center has been built into a vertical grand canal with Dadu as the center and Hangzhou as the south. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is divided into seven sections according to its geographical location: from Beijing to Tongzhou District, it is called Tonghui River, which is 82 kilometers long; Tongzhou District to Tianjin is called the North Canal, which is 186 km long. Tianjin to Linqing is called the South Canal, which is 400 kilometers long. Linqing to Taierzhuang is called Lu Canal, which is about 500 kilometers long. Taierzhuang to Huaiyin is called the Central Canal, with a total length of 186 km. Huaiyin to Guazhou is called the Li Canal, which is about180km long. Zhenjiang to Hangzhou is called Jiangnan Canal, which is about 330 kilometers long. Yangzhou is a famous Li Canal city. When Yang Di dug a canal in Yangzhou, Yangzhou became the hub of north-south traffic. Thanks to grain transportation, it has become one of the most prosperous areas in China.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Canal has always been the main canal for water transportation in past dynasties, and played an important role in the economic and cultural exchanges between the North and the South. /kloc-shipping rose in the 0/9th century. With the opening of the Jin-Pu Railway, the role of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal gradually decreased. After the migration of the Yellow River, the water resources in the reach of Shandong Province were in short supply, and the siltation was shallow, and the north-south navigation was cut off and silted up to the ground. The section of Jiangsu with large water volume and good navigation conditions can only sail in Xiao Mu. The abandonment and depression of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal is a portrayal of the semi-colonial and semi-feudal system in China. After liberation, some river sections were widened and deepened, many modern docks and shiplocks were built, and shipping conditions were improved. Seasonal navigation mileage reaches 1 100 km or more. 660 kilometers south of Pixian County, Jiangsu Province, the 500-ton fleet can be unimpeded. The ancient Beijing-Hangzhou Canal will become a water conveyance channel for the future South-to-North Water Transfer Project.

meaning

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is a great project created by the working people in ancient China, a precious material and spiritual wealth left by our ancestors, and an important living and flowing human heritage. The Grand Canal originated in the Spring and Autumn Period, formed in the Sui Dynasty and developed in the Tang and Song Dynasties. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was built in the Spring and Autumn Period more than 2,000 years ago, with a history of 2,500 years. An important river channel dug by Qin Shihuang (Ying Zheng) in Jiaxing also laid the foundation for the development of Jiangnan Canal in the future. According to Yue Jue Shu, Qin Shihuang "ruled Lingshui Road from Jiaxing, crossed Qiantang River and crossed Zhejiang". About 2,500 years ago, Fu Cha, the king of Wu, dug a ditch, opened a canal connecting the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, and built Seoul, from which the canal and its culture were derived.

The Grand Canal we are talking about today was dug in the Spring and Autumn Period, completed in the Sui Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, straightened in the Yuan Dynasty, and dredged in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (dug in 486 BC and opened to traffic in A.D. 1293), which lasted 1779. In the long years, it has experienced three major construction processes. During the Sui Dynasty, Yang Di used millions of people to dig the Grand Canal, which made great contributions to the unprecedented prosperity of the country's economy and culture. After the development in Tang and Song Dynasties, it finally became a traffic artery connecting the five major water systems of Haihe River, Yellow River, Huaihe River, Yangtze River and Qiantang River in Yuan Dynasty.

Stands for artificial Tianhe.

The Grand Canal is the second "golden waterway" in China after the Yangtze River. Its value is comparable to that of the Great Wall, and it is the earliest and longest artificial river course in the world, which is 16 times that of Suez Canal and 33 times that of Panama Canal.

Declare world heritage

In March 2006, 58 CPPCC members jointly submitted a proposal to the Fourth Session of the Tenth Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, calling for the strategic rescue and protection of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and applying for world heritage projects at an appropriate time.

Among these 58 members, there are not only the current and former presidents of CPPCC in six provinces and cities including Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, but also two former directors of National Cultural Heritage Administration-Zhang Wenbin and Dan Jixiang. Celebrities such as Yi Shu and Wang Tiecheng also signed their names.

Member Liu Feng, the first sponsor, said that the Grand Canal with profound historical and cultural heritage is known as the "Ancient Cultural Corridor", the ancient science and technology library, the museum of historical sites and scenic spots, and the folk custom showroom. Its historical remains are excellent physical materials for studying the politics, economy, culture and society of ancient China, and the best testimony of China's long history and civilization. From the perspective of protecting human civilization, the Grand Canal is not only unique in China, but also universally recognized in the development of human history. The water system of the Grand Canal stretches for thousands of miles, running through the north and south, forming a unique natural landscape and giving birth to a rich linear cultural landscape. If you add intangible cultural heritage that has not been well explored, the content will be more abundant. "If you add up its historical value, cultural connotation and contribution to the historical development of China, it can be compared with the Great Wall to some extent." Zheng Heluo, two authoritative experts who called on China to join the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1985, predicted that "we firmly believe that the success rate of applying for the World Heritage of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is very high."

"The Grand Canal and the Great Wall should be sisters in the heritage list," member Liu Feng reminded, but it must be noted that with the development of economy and society, the traditional function of the Grand Canal is gradually weakening, and its authenticity and integrity are being destroyed. If we don't pay attention to the protection work as important as "applying for the World Heritage", her history, culture, relics and natural scenery will inevitably degenerate and die out quickly, which will be an irreparable loss to the Chinese nation.

The protection and application of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is by no means a matter of a certain place or department. CPPCC members suggested that the rescue and protection of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal should be started immediately from a strategic perspective, and a research institution with the participation and full support of relevant ministries, experts and coastal governments should be set up to find out the "home" of the Grand Canal, formulate the overall protection plan of the Grand Canal as soon as possible, and declare the World Heritage Project in due course.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is a great project created by the working people in ancient China, a precious material and spiritual wealth left by our ancestors, and an important living and flowing human heritage. The Grand Canal originated in the Spring and Autumn Period, formed in the Sui Dynasty, developed in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and finally became the main waterway connecting the five major water systems of Haihe River, Yellow River, Huaihe River, Yangtze River and Qiantang River in the Yuan Dynasty. In the historical process of more than two thousand years, the Grand Canal has made important contributions to China's economic development, national unity, social progress and cultural prosperity, and it is still playing a huge role.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal shows the outstanding achievements of China's ancient water conservancy and shipping engineering technology, which is ahead of the world. It has left a rich historical and cultural heritage, bred a series of famous towns like bright pearls, accumulated a profound and long-standing cultural heritage, and condensed huge information in China's political, economic, cultural and social fields. The Grand Canal and the Great Wall are symbols of the cultural identity of the Chinese nation. Protecting the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is of great significance for inheriting human civilization and promoting the harmonious development of society.

With the development of economy and society, the traditional transportation function of the Grand Canal has changed, and the river course, scenery along the river and people's life have changed greatly. At present, it is facing the severe challenge of urban modernization and rural urbanization. If protection is not strengthened, the historical and cultural remains, scenery and natural ecological environment of the Grand Canal will be destroyed, and its authenticity and integrity will cease to exist, which will be an irreparable loss to the Chinese nation. It is critical to rescue and protect the Grand Canal and achieve sustainable development.

appeal

-Arouse the public's social awareness of the important position and multiple values of the Grand Canal, further enhance the protection awareness of governments at all levels, summarize and publicize the experience of protecting and excavating the profound historical and cultural connotation of the Grand Canal in various places, mobilize all social forces to participate in the protection and application of the Grand Canal, and continue the context and civilization of the Canal.

-From a national strategic perspective, establish a unified coordination body, formulate laws and regulations for the protection of the Grand Canal, make overall plans for protection and development, mobilize all forces, implement effective protection, and make scientific and rational use for the benefit of future generations.

-In accordance with the requirements of the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, attach importance to and start the application for the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, correctly handle the relationship between natural heritage, cultural heritage and intangible cultural heritage with innovative ideas, correctly handle the relationship between protection, utilization and development, and effectively turn the application process into a process of strengthening the protection and management of the Grand Canal.

-Set up research institutions as soon as possible with the full support of relevant ministries, relevant experts and cities along the route, collect data, find out the family background, carry out investigation and evaluation with a serious and scientific attitude, and put forward feasible suggestions to relevant departments.

-Implement Scientific Outlook on Development, pay more attention to the overall features of the Grand Canal in the process of economic and social development planning and implementation along the Grand Canal, ensure effective protection of cultural relics along the route, rationally utilize resources, protect the ecological environment, realize sustainable development and revitalize the ancient canal.

Digital Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal

In order to better protect the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and declare the world cultural heritage, China will "excavate" the "Digital Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal".

The National Social Development Science and Technology Conference held in Beijing in early May 2007 proposed that China would implement the digital Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal project during the 11th Five-Year Plan period.

According to the 11th Five-Year Plan for Scientific and Technological Development of Cultural Heritage Protection issued by National Cultural Heritage Administration, China experts will, on the basis of the existing research results, formulate the collection standards for residential houses in the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, systematically carry out investigation and evaluation, and establish a comprehensive information system for the cultural heritage of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal by using global positioning system (GPS) and other technical means.

According to the Plan, the system can manage the non-spatial data of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in the same geographical reference coordinate system, realize unified management through words and graphics, realize two-way query and retrieval through words and graphics, and browse, query, analyze and map images to form a basic information base, which provides strong support for the protection, research, display, management and decision-making of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

Governance objectives of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal

In recent years, the total annual water consumption in Taihu Lake Basin is 29 billion cubic meters, while the average annual water resources in this area is only 654.38+062 billion cubic meters. Excluding the part that can't be used because of pollution, more than 30 million people in Taihu Lake Basin have created nearly one trillion yuan of GDP every year, and the water consumption is actually twice the actual resources. Because the water pollution control in Taihu Lake basin is not in harmony with economic development and population, the water pollution in the basin is very serious, which makes Taihu Lake basin face a severe water shortage situation. According to the continuous monitoring and evaluation of water quality from 1998 to 2000, although the central and local governments have strengthened the prevention and control of water pollution in the basin in recent years, the water quality of Taihu Lake has not improved significantly on the whole, and the eutrophication of the lake has not improved significantly on the whole. In 2000, total phosphorus, total nitrogen and chemical oxygen consumption were far from the planned control targets. Water pollution in river networks has not been effectively controlled, and some places are still deteriorating. The water resources in Taihu Lake basin are facing a severe situation.

On the other hand, after the communication between Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and Qiantang River, with the development of Hangzhou city, shipping has played an important role in economic construction, but it has also produced many negative effects. The noise and exhaust emissions from ships have seriously affected the quality of life of citizens. Many bridge-related accidents during ship navigation also pose an inevitable threat to key cultural relics protection units such as Chen Gong Bridge. The uneven appearance of the cargo ship is also very inconsistent with the current landscape river, which has already happened. If the navigation of cargo ships in Hangzhou-Tangqi section of the Canal is stopped and changed into a complete tourist channel, the economic benefits of tourism and coastal real estate will be enormous.

Therefore, the channel between Fuchun River in Qiantang River system and Dongtiaoxi River in Taihu Lake system should be opened to connect Qiantang River and Taihu Lake system. The high-quality water source of Fuchun River naturally flows through Dongtiaoxi River, scouring the poor water in Taihu Lake system, providing high-quality water source for Hangjiahu area and Shanghai, and improving the water resources environment in these areas. After sewage is gradually intercepted and collected, the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and its tributaries will become high-quality tap water sources in cities such as Hangzhou and Jiaxing. In order to ensure the safety of ship navigation, water quality is not polluted by ships, and land resources are saved, electrified light rail with international advanced level is adopted to control ship navigation, and a safe and economical navigation mode with low channel grade and high navigation capacity is realized, which is the first in China to realize green shipping.

On May 25th, 2006, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, as a great project from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Qing Dynasty, was approved by the State Council to be included in the sixth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.