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.
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.
Declare world heritage
In March 2006, 58 CPPCC members jointly submitted a proposal to the Fourth Session of the Tenth CPPCC National Committee, calling for the strategic rescue and protection of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and timely applying for world heritage projects.
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.
I hope it helps you.