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World’s Longest Canal

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Here we are going to discuss about “World’s longest canal “. It is situated  in China is the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, famously known as the Grand Canal. The channel begins at Beijing prior to going through Tianjin and the Hebel, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang areas to the city of Hangzhou, interfacing the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers. In 2014, the Grand Canal was recorded as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO during the Conference on World Heritage.

History of The Grand Canal :

Fuchai, the King of the State of Wu, travelled north to fight the State of Qi during the late spring and autumn period (770-476 BCE). He gave the order to build a canal for trade and a way to transport a lot of supplies up north in case his soldiers needed to fight the northern states of Song and Lu. The Han Gou was the name given to this canal. The Han Gou connected the Yangtze with the Huai River using pre-existing canals, lakes, and marshes after work started in 486 BCE from south of Yangzhou to north of Huai’an in Jiangsu. Since the Hong Gou presumably came first, the Han Gou is regarded as the second-oldest part of the later Grand Canal.
The Sui dynasty (581-618) saw the relocation of China’s main industrial and agricultural region away from the Yellow River basin in the north and toward the southern provinces, which led to the building of the parts of the Grand Canal that exist today in Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu provinces. Grain transportation to the capital has been its primary function throughout its history. The first significant part of the Grand Canal, known as the Bian Qu, was finished in the year 605 with the documented labour of five million people under the supervision of Ma Shumou.

Length Of The World’s Longest Canal :

The Grand Canal’s complete length is roughly 1,104 miles while its most noteworthy level is at 138 feet at the culmination of the Shandong Mountains. After the pound lock was developed in the 10th century, ships in Chinese canals had no trouble reaching greater elevations. The pound lock was developed by Qiao Weiyue a designer and government official somewhere in the range between 960 and 1279 during the Song tradition. Many individuals have appreciated the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal over its time including the Persian student of history Rashid al-Din, the Italian evangelist Matteo Ricci, the Japanese priest Ennin, and the Korean authority Choe Bu.

Significance of the Grand Canal :

The Yangtze River and the Yellow River are China’s two primary river systems. The two River systems are connected by the Grand Canal. Grain can now be transported from the rural south to the more industrial north because of this canal. Additionally, it assisted in supplying the Chinese forces guarding the country’s northern borders. The Grand Canal allowed China to become a unified nation rather than a collection of local sovereign warlords.
The Sui dynasty first finished building the Grand Canal in 609. Locks were created by the Chinese in 984, which made travelling along the canal easier. For the entire world, this invention was significant.
It is difficult to overstate the importance of China’s Grand Canal. The Canal contributed to the unification of China as a single country. The Canal served as a conduit for trade and travel between northern and southern China. The Grand Canal allowed ships to travel between China’s two main river systems. The Chinese’s invention of locks on the Grand Canal would enable canals to be built all over the world.
 

Uses of Grand Canal :

As of now, just the Grand Canal’s segment running from Hangzhou to Jining is safe. The waterway’s course is at present partitioned into a few segments, from north to south. The Grand Canal has principally been utilized for transportation from the Tang tradition to the Qing line since it filled in as an imperative connection between the southern and northern locales of China. Mostly it was utilized for moving grain to Beijing, however, the course was additionally utilized for the delivery of different wares. Over the long run, the passageway along the Grand Canal turned into a critical financial belt. As per records, during the waterway’s pinnacle years, north of 8,000 boats transported around 360,000 metric tons of grain every year. The channel has likewise improved political mix and social trade inside the district. Right now, the Grand Canal is principally utilized for the transportation of an assortment of mass merchandise including coal, blocks, sand, rock, and diesel.
 


Last Updated : 24 Nov, 2022
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