The Grand Canal we see today was built section by section in different areas and dynasties before it was linked together by the Sui Dynasty (581-618). From south to north these are the Jiangnan Canal, the Inner Canal, the Middle Canal, the Lu Canal, the South Canal, the North Canal, and the Tonghui River. Interesting Facts about the Grand Canal Historians estimate that the oldest section of the canal was built around the 6th century BC. In 12 BC, in order to solve the problem of the Grand Canal having to use 160 kilometers (100 mi) of the perilous course of the Yellow River in Northern Jiangsu, a man named Li Hualong created the Jia Canal. The Panama Canal was a canal built in Panama. In 1282–83 the decision was made to build a new canal from the Huang He—which since 1195 had changed its course southward and taken over the former mouth of the Huai below Huaiyin—to the Daqing River in northern Shandong province, which was dredged to give an outlet to the sea. Corrections? In November 2008, as an extension of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and the passage between the Grand Canal and the Maritime Silk Road, the Eastern Zhejiang Canal was placed into the nomination file in the UNESCO World Heritage program. In recent years, broad bypass canals have been dug around the major cities to reduce ‘traffic jams’. Blisworth Tunnel and an embankment at Wolverton were not finished until March and August 1805 when the Grand Junction was opened as a through route for the first time. Additional amounts of water from the Yangtze will be drawn into the canal in Jiangdu City, where a giant 400 m3/s (14,000 cu ft/s) pumping station was already built in the 1980s, and is then fed uphill by pumping stations along the route and through a tunnel under the Yellow River, from where it can flow downhill to reservoirs near Tianjin. It was begun in 1422 by a member of the Contarini family, and it is a mark of the high demand for real estate development on the Grand Canal that the Ca' d'Oro was built on the site of a teardown. The main traffic, however, is concentrated in the southern half. The oldest parts of the canal date back to the 5th century BC, but the various sections were first connected during the Sui dynasty (581–618 AD). The scholar Gu Yanwu of the early Qing dynasty (1644–1912) estimated that the previous Ming dynasty had to employ 47,004 full-time laborers recruited by the lijia corvée system in order to maintain the entire canal system. Cargo was unloaded at Tongzhou and transported to Beijing by land. The economic importance of the canal likely will continue. Later in 1990s the canal was newly relined between Swans neck and Greenway bridge.The project was funded between … The erection of the Grand Canal that goes from Beijing to … The Grand Canal, known to the Chinese as the Jing–Hang Grand Canal (Chinese: 京杭大運河; pinyin: Jīng-Háng Dà Yùnhé; lit. The Grand Canal is currently being upgraded to serve as the Eastern Route of the South-North Water Transfer Project. 1 0. The Tonghui river still exists as a wide, concrete-lined storm-channel and drain for the suburbs of Beijing. In recent years, because of newer modes of transportation, the canal has been gradually replaced. The Jianbi ship locks on the Yangtze are currently handling some 75,000,000 tons[vague] each year, and the Li Canal is forecast to reach 100,000,000 tons[vague] in the next few years. The city of Kaifeng grew to be a major hub, later becoming the capital of the Song dynasty (960–1279). Anonymous. Grand Lake St. Marys provided water for the canal's northern leg, and Lake Loramie and Indian Lake fed the southern portion of the waterway. [31] Each courier station was assigned a different name, all of which were popularized in travel songs of the period.[32]. Even today, the Grand Canal has not fully recovered from this disaster. The Jiangnan (or ‘South of the Yangtze’) Canal is heavily utilized by barge traffic bringing coal and construction materials to the booming delta. In the Qing dynasty, the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors made twelve trips to the south, on all occasions but one reaching Hangzhou. In the Ming dynasty, official courier stations were placed at intervals of 35 to 45 km (22 to 28 mi). From the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) to the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), the Eastern Zhejiang Canal lost its privilege but remained navigable. [46], In 1848, Robert Fortune reached Hang Chow Foo by the Grand Canal in his quest for tea plants. The Grand Canal, called in Chinese Yii … The canal can now accommodate medium-sized barge traffic throughout its length. In 1926, the Regents Canal Co. agreed to buy the Grand Junction Canal subject to them purchasing the Warwick Canals. Its southern section, running between Hangzhou and the Yangtze, was named the Jiangnan River (the river ‘South of the Yangtze’). After 1934 the Chinese government carried out extensive works on the canal between Huaiyin and the Yangtze; ship locks were constructed to allow medium-sized steamers to use this section, which was dredged and largely rebuilt. The houses were built around the Grand Canal mostly in teh seventeenth century… This latter course is less used today. Eventually another stretch of canal, the Huitong Canal, was built to join Dong’e Zhen on the Huang He with the Wei River at Linqing. At Beijing, it reaches 27 m, fed by streams flowing downhill from the mountains to the west. The 16ft-deep Venice Grand Canal – known by locals as the Canalazzo – has over 170 buildings built along its two-and-a-half mile length, many of them grand palazzos. The Manchus established the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), and under their leadership, the Grand Canal was overseen and maintained just as in earlier times. It ran for 75 kilometers (47 mi) from Nanyang (now Nanyang Town, located in the center of Weishan Lake) to the small settlement of Liucheng (in the vicinity of modern Gaolou Village, Weishan County, Shandong) north of Xuzhou City. By the 1990s, pollution in the canal had reached the point where boat and barge crews could tell when they were nearing Hangzhou by the stench of the visibly black water. [31] It is known that 121,500 soldiers and officers were needed simply to operate the 11,775 government grain barges in the mid-15th century. This section was bu… [12], Between 604 and 609, Emperor Yang Guang (or Sui Yangdi) of the Sui dynasty ordered several canals to be dug in a 'Y' shape, from Hangzhou in the south to terminate in (modern) Beijing and the capital region along the Yellow River valley. [2] The new canal was to pass not Xuzhou but Suzhou, to avoid connecting with the Si River, and instead make a direct connection with the Huai River just west of Lake Hongze. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. At its terminus, the canal joins the Hai River in the center of Tianjin City before turning north-west. By 1763 he had completed 3 locks and 6 bridges towards Dublin and was concentrating on establishing a water supply from the Morell Rivernear Sallins. The Grand Canal was built in 468 BC, and it went through renovations and enlargements three times in history, which were in the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC-476 BC), the Sui Dynasty (581-618) and the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) respectively. The Grand Canal was built in the perspective of Versailles Palace by gardener Andre Lenotre. [14] Running alongside and parallel to the canal was an imperial roadway and post offices supporting a courier system. The need for a major transport link again arose during the Yuan (Mongol) dynasty (1279–1368), because its capital at Dadu (Beijing) required a grain-supply system. 1 decade ago. At Weishan Lake, both courses enter Shandong province. From the Tang to Qing dynasties, the Grand Canal served as the main artery between northern and southern China and was essential for the transport of grain to Beijing. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. 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