The Grand Canal
The Grand Canal is an ancient man-made waterway that dates back to the 5th century B.C. during China's Spring and Au- tumn period. With a history spanning over 2500 years, it traverses the North China Plain and the Yangtze Plain, encompassing three sections: the Sui and Tang Grand Canal, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and the Eastern Zhejiang Canal. Stretching over 3000 kilometers, it passes through eight provincial-level regions and connects the five major river systems, namely the Hai- he River, the Yellow River, the Huaihe River, the Yangtze River, and the Qiantang River. The canal served as a major artery of transportation between the north and south in ancient China.
The Grand Canal was a massive engineering project built and managed by the state, aimed at ensuring safe transportation of grain and maintaining political stability and national unity. It was also intended to address natural resource imbalances between northern and southern China and development needs, by facilitat- ing large-scale distribution of goods across the country and con- necting the political and economic centers. The canal facilitated economic and cultural exchanges between different regions and played an irreplaceable role in ensuring national security, political stability, economic prosperity, and social development.
One of the greatest engineering marvels of ancient China, comparable to the Great Wall, and a magnificent project of water conservancy, the Grand Canal holds the record for being the longest canal in the world as well as the earliest and largest one ever excavated. In 2014, the Grand Canal was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
大運河
大運河是中國古代開鑿的人工運河，始建于公元前5世紀的春秋時期，至今已有2500多年的歷史。大運河縱貫中國東部華北平原和長江中下游平原，包括隋唐大運河、京杭大運河和浙東大運河三部分，全長3000多千米，地跨8個省級行政區，溝通了海河、黃河、淮河、長江、錢塘江五大水系，是中國古代南北交通的大動脈。
大運河是為確保糧食運輸安全、維護政權穩定和國家統一，由國家投資開鑿和管理的巨大運河工程體系，也是解決中國南北社會和自然資源不平衡的重要措施，實現了在廣大國土范圍內南北方物資的大跨度調配，溝通了國家的政治中心與經濟中心，促進了不同地域間的經濟、文化交流，在國家安全、政治穩定、經濟繁榮、社會發展、文化交流等方面發揮了不可替代的作用。
大運河是與長城相媲美的中國古代偉大工程，是中國古代勞動人民創造的一項偉大的水利建筑，是世界上最長的運河，也是世界上開鑿最早、規模最大的運河。2014年，大運河列入聯合國教科文組織世界文化遺產名錄。
