The Great Chinese Canal: photo, characteristics, meaning

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:48

China is famous for its famous wall, which stretches for several thousand kilometers, as well as a canal that connects the whole country. The latter is one of the oldest operating man-made hydraulic structures in the world.

General information

The Great Canal of China is a monumental structure that took nearly 2,000 years to build. The beginning of its construction dates back to the 5th century BC, and the completion - the 13th century AD. This is the greatest water feature that links the four largest cities (Nantong, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing), is included in the UNESCO register.

Originally, the canal served to transport the grain harvest from the most fertile agricultural areas, the Huang He and Yangtze river valleys, to the capital. Grain was also used to provide food for the standing army. It starts in the north, in Beijing, and ends in the south, in Hangzhou.

This shipping canal in China is the greatest structure in the world, connecting China's largest ports of Shanghai and Tianjin, and is also the main means of communication betweensouthern and northern regions of the eastern part of the country.

Features

The length of the canal is 1782 kilometers, and the total length with branches to the cities of Hangzhou, Nantong and Beijing is 2470 kilometers. From 2 to 3 meters is the depth of the fairway. The channel has 21 gateways. The maximum throughput capacity is about 10 million tons annually.

The width of the canal varies between 40-3500 meters (the narrowest part is in the provinces of Hebei and Shandong - 40 m, the widest part in Shanghai - 3500 m). It is known that one of the fastest and most convenient modes of transport in ancient times was water. It was thanks to such a waterway that China ensured stable trade relations within the country for many centuries.

The Grand Canal of China is the longest and oldest man-made river in the world.

A Brief History

The canal passes through the cities of Tianjin and Beijing, as well as through the provinces of Hebei, Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhejiang. This man-made miracle connects the Huanghe, Haihe, Huaihe, Qiantang and Yangtze rivers. Long ago, more than 2,400 years ago (the Chunqiu era), the Wu kingdom, fighting for the central plain, went to war against the northern kingdom of Qi. The Wu kingdom built a canal near the city of Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, carrying the waters of the Yangtze to the Yellow River. Then the artery began to lengthen both in the north direction and in the south. Particularly active work was carried out during the reign of the Sui and Yuan dynasties. Ultimately, the modern famous Beijing-Hangzhou canal was formed. many plotsartificial rivers include former natural lakes and rivers, while others are artificial arteries. However, the bulk of the water comes from natural reservoirs.

This amazing building was a navigable artery, thanks to which government and military food was transported to the emperor's palace and to the military district during the reign of all dynasties. Since ancient times, the canal has not only been of great transport importance, but also linked the internal economy of the North and South.

Even in the 19th century, river transportation of goods was significant for China, but after the construction of the Tianjin-Nanjing railway, its role gradually decreased. In addition, after the change in the direction of the Yellow River (due to insufficient water supply to a section of the territory of Shandong Province), ships stopped running from south to north. Although the volume of water in the Jiangsu section is relatively large and, accordingly, the conditions for the passage of ships are relatively favorable, the canal began to accept only small boats.

More details about the reign of Emperor Yang Di

It is known that the canal was built and used by separate sections in different areas and in different periods of time. However, only in the 7th century, during the reign of Emperor Yang-di (Sui dynasty), was a systematic unification of individual channels into a single transport water system.

It was important for Yang-di to establish uninterrupted transportation of the rice crop from the most fertile region of the riverYangtze (northwest of the state) to the capital. It was also important for providing food for the army. At that time, more than 3 million peasants were forced to participate in the construction of the Great Chinese Canal under the control of many soldiers. During the work (six years), about half of the workers died from poor working conditions and hunger.

As a result, since 735, about 150 million kilograms of grain were transported annually along the canal along with many other food and industrial goods (porcelain, cotton, etc.). All this contributed to the further prosperity of the Chinese economy.

Modernity and the future

In the recent past, the Great Chinese Canal was deepened and expanded, modern ports and locks were built. Navigation conditions for water transport began to improve, and the length of the seasonal shipping route reached 1,100 kilometers.

Soon to the south of Pi County (Jiangsu Province), more than 660 km of the fairway will be able to receive ships with a displacement of about 500 tons. And in the near future, the Beijing-Hangzhou canal will be a south-north water artery.

In closing

When transportation by rail was organized, the Great Canal of China, which connected the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, gradually began to lose its former significance.

Today, only the section from Hangzhou to Jining is navigable, while the southern and central sections are now used mainly fortransportation of coal from mines (Shandong and Jiangsu region). The rest of the canal suffered from accumulated mud, and its northern sections were almost completely dry.