The Cultural Heritage Creative Innovation Design Contest for the Grand Canal Cultural Belt came to a close on Saturday in Beijing. 

The competition is the first cultural event to focus on the conservation and creative design along the Grand Canal, a massive waterway that runs between Beijing and Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang Province. 

The Grand Canal was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.

The competition, which began on July 11, 2018, attracted more than 200 designers from countries such as Denmark, France and the US. A total of 189 cultural works among the 2,500 submitted won prizes, and some will be put into production after cooperating with some companies.

This competition has played a beneficial role in promoting the protection, inheritance and utilization of the Grand Canal's cultural heritage resources in China, and effectively benefited the public welfare undertakings of museums, according to the National Cultural Heritage Administration's official website.   

The competition required all works be designed around cultural relics along the canal. The judging panel looked for outstanding works that demonstrated entrants' understanding of the historical connotations and value behind these culture relics.

At the closing ceremony, Roderick Buchanan, commercial director of the British Museum, said that the cultural relics along the Grand Canal are great resources for developing cultural products. He said he hopes to strengthen the cooperation between China and the UK in the future.

The establishment of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt became a hot topic after a conservation project was announced in February.