The Grand Canal

The Grand Canal

China's only water running from north to south is 1,747 kilometers long Beijing-Hangzhou Canal. It is 10 times the length of the Suez Canal(172.5 kilometers in length, constructed in 1869) and 20 times that of the Panama Canal (81.3 kilometers in length, built in 1914). It passes through the cities of Beijing and Tianjin and the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The oldest parts of the canal date back to the 5th century BC, although the various sections were finally combined into one during the Sui Dynasty (581BC618 AD). Historically, the periodic flooding of the adjacent Yellow River threatened the safety and functioning of the Grand Canal. On some occasions "during times of war" the high dykes of the Yellow River were purposefully broken in order to flood advancing enemy troops. Yet this ultimately caused disaster and prolonged economic hardships. Despite temporary periods of desolation and disuse, the Grand Canal furbished the indigenous and growing economic market of China's urban centers throughout the ages since the Sui.