杭州英语导游词Grand Canal

云出岫

Canalized in the Sui dynasty (581-618), Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is one of the greatest projects constructed in ancient China as well as the longest man-made waterway in world.

In 604 AD, Emperor Yangdi of the Sui dynasty made a tour to Luoyang. In the
second year, he moved the capital to Luoyang and ordered the canalization of the
Grand Canal. This task lasted for six years and thousands of labors involved in it.
Finally, those original scrappy canals were joined up and the Grand Canal formed.

With a total length of 1764 kilometers, the canal, communicating Yangtze River,
Yellow River, Huaihe River, Haihe River and Qiantang River, flows through Beijing,
Tianjing, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang with Hangzhou at its southernmost end.

Since most of China\'s major rivers flow from west to east, the Grand Canal running north
and south provides an important connector between several minor river systems, being
restored as a water-diversion conduit. It has played an important role in strengthening
economic and cultural intercourse between north and south and promoting the
development of the country\'s economy.

Tangqi town in Yuhang county of Hangzhou is a famous ancient town on the Grand Canal.
Till today, 300-year-old seven-arched Tongji Bridge and the ancient streets along the canal
are well preserved. To take a boat ride on the Grand Canal here gives one a full view of the
landscape of a typical river town in southern China