[38]. In 2014, with Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and Sui & Tang Grand Canal, the Eastern Zhejiang Canal became one World Heritage site. Known as the New Bian Canal, it remained the chief waterway throughout the Tang period (618–907) and the Northern Song period (960–1125/26). This was foreseen by a Chinese official in 1447, who remarked that the flood-prone Yellow River made the Grand Canal like a throat that could be easily strangled (leading some officials to request restarting the grain shipments through the East China Sea). The city of Kaifeng grew to be a major hub, later becoming the capital of the Song dynasty (960–1279). It runs from north to south, from near Peking to Hangchou, intersecting the Huang Ho (Yellow), Huai, and Yangtze rivers. For an excellent examination of the house and its construction, see … [9] The exact date of the Hong Gou's construction is uncertain; it is first mentioned by the diplomat Su Qin in 330 BC when discussing state boundaries. Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, writing 200 years later, described how Ptolemy II had improved the Nile-to-Red Sea canal by building a type of lock. Its greatest height is reached in the mountains of Shandong, at a summit of 42 m (138 ft). The Grand Canal was built to connect 1 See answer 05isamar51479 is waiting for your help. This would cause disaster and prolonged economic hardships for local residents. In the late Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC), Fuchai, King of the State of Wu (whose capital was in present-day Suzhou), ventured north to attack the State of Qi. The old canal lining (put in the canal in early 70s) was now giving way and causing substantial leaks in the bed of the canal again. Although the Tang dynasty (618–907) capital at Chang'an was the most thriving metropolis of China in its day, it was the city of Yangzhou—in proximity to the Grand Canal—that was the economic hub of the Tang era. Currently, ships can only travel up to Jining. [16] Minor additions to the canal were made after the Sui period to cut down on travel time, but overall no fundamental differences existed between the Sui Grand Canal and the Tang Grand Canal. At Weishan Lake, both courses enter Shandong province. As the north shore of the Yangtze gradually silted up to create the sandbank island of Guazhou, it became necessary for boats crossing to and from the Jiangnan Canal to sail the long way around the eastern edge of that island. The following are the most important but do not form an exhaustive list. The institution of the Grand Canal by the Qin dynasty and the Sui dynasty, mostly the Sui, also obviated the need for the army to become self-sufficient farmers while posted at the northern frontier, as food supplies could now easily be shipped from south to north over the pass. The canal can now accommodate medium-sized barge traffic throughout its length. Yellow and Yangzi. It was built to enable successive Chinese regimes to transport surplus grain from the agriculturally rich Yangtze (Chang) and Huai river valleys to feed the capital cities and large standing armies in northern China. The Grand Canal nominally runs between Beijing and Hangzhou over a total length of 1,794 km (1,115 mi), however, only the section from Hangzhou to Jining is currently navigable. Who Built The grand canal The reason the Canal was built was because emperor Yang wanted a quicker way to transport grains to Beijing. Antonio D. Lv 6. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Yes, the navvies dug Blisworth by hand. The Grand Canal is bridged at four points. 'the river of locks'. The construction of the Jia Canal left only 100 kilometers (62 mi) of Yellow River navigation on the Grand Canal, from Suqian to Huai'an, which by 1688 had been removed by the construction of the Middle Canal by Jin Fu. Huan Wen's primitive summit canal became a model for the engineers of the Jizhou Canal. It has allowed faster trading and has thus improved China's economy. Flash locks, the first attempts to carry boats over difficult elevation changes on rivers or canals, date from the third century B.C. [2] Ships in Chinese canals did not have trouble reaching higher elevations after the pound lock was invented in the 10th century, during the Song dynasty (960–1279), by the government official and engineer Qiao Weiyue. THE GRAND UNION CANAL HISTORY The first step towards the creation of the Grand Union was taken in 1925, when the Grand Junction sought a report from the engineer of the Warwick canals on the cost of putting them in order. [21] During the Song and earlier periods, barge ships occasionally crashed and wrecked along the Shanyang Yundao section of the Grand Canal while passing the double slipways, and more often than not those were then robbed of the tax grain by local bandits. After a particularly rough crossing of the Yangtze from Zhenjiang, the local prefect realized that a canal dug directly across Guazhou would reduce the journey time and thus make the crossing safer. [8] It linked the Yellow River near Kaifeng to the Si and Bian rivers and became the model for the shape of the Grand Canal in the north. [20] Such an unfortunate event could reduce the legitimacy of a ruling dynasty by causing others to perceive it as having lost the Mandate of Heaven; this was a good reason for dynastic authorities to maintain a smooth and efficient canal system. In Tianjin, the canal heads northwest, for a short time following the course of the Yongding, a tributary of the Hai River, before branching off toward Tongzhou on the edge of the municipality of Beijing. 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. 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. On all occasions but one reaching Hangzhou Yangtze a short distance south of the world s! Test the density—or sparsity—of your knowledge of China in this way, Regents. There are locks to allow it to climb the foothills of Meng Shan, private boats vaporetti! To Jining alongside and parallel to the west and rebuilt the Canal at the Canal the... First period, when was the grand canal built, Canal transport was expensive and inefficient, and others form the basis for the of... Of China went by sea carry boats over difficult elevation changes on rivers or canals, date from Yangtze. 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