An aerial view of the Grand Canal in Yangzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province Photo: VCG

Since it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site ten years ago, China's Grand Canal has become a green, culturally brilliant and characteristic tourism belt thanks to the country's efforts in protection and inheritance. 

A mega undertaking, this man-made wonder doesn't just connect the north and the south, but shines as an example of Chinese civilization as millions of people have lived, worked, and carried out exchanges along the canal for over 2,000 years. 

Ge Jianxiong, a researcher at the Central Institute for Cultural and Historical Studies and a senior professor at Fudan University who has deeply researched China's Grand Canal culture, has presented his thinking on the importance of this culture through lectures and articles.

As the country is building a national cultural park dedicated to the Grand Canal, he shared more of his thoughts during an exclusive interview with the Global Times. 

"The Grand Canal has played an irreplaceable role in Chinese history. Without the Grand Canal, there would be no complete Chinese civilization," said Ge. "The Grand Canal must be placed in the context of Chinese civilization and fully understood so that it can be better inherited and utilized."



Transportation artery

Known as flowing cultural heritage, the Grand Canal, the world's longest man-made waterway, is nearly 3,200 kilometers long and runs north-south through eight provincial regions, including Beijing and Jiangsu. Over 1,000 kilometers of the canal was recognized as a world heritage site in 2014.

A cultural belt is being built along the canal's existing main river course and those used in recent history, preserving the canal's cultural heritage, improving its water quality, building a green ecological corridor, and promoting culture and tourism.

An important part of Chinese civilization, the Grand Canal is strongly connected with the following five prominent features of Chinese civilization: inclusiveness, continuity, innovativeness, unity, and peaceful nature, said Ge. 

The Grand Canal compromises several sections with the earliest ones dating back to the 5th century BC. 

Following two large-scale expansions in the 7th and 13th centuries, it became a major south-north transportation artery. 

In ancient times, the Grand Canal transported grain from southern China to Beijing, the northernmost point of the Grand Canal. 

"From this perspective, I always say that without the Grand Canal, Beijing would not be able to hold its status as the capital," said the 79-year-old professor, who has been doing research on the Grand Canal.  

"With its status as the capital, we could mobilize the resources of the whole country to secure its supply. Otherwise, there would be no national security and unity, nor complete Chinese civilization. China has always been a whole nation, and its civilization has always been complete. We should understand the significance of the Grand Canal from this perspective," Ge told the Global Times.

He has raised the definition of the Grand Canal culture during his speeches and cultural programs like Shine! The Grand Canal that he took part in as he calls it "a regional expression of building a new culture based on China's core socialist values."

"The value of building the Grand Canal culture is completely consistent with the national and future cultural development, but it also needs to show more local characteristics," he told the Global Times. 

Research needs to be done along the canal for the regional culture. Generally speaking, the most representative aspect of the regional culture is dialect as it can best reflect its local culture. 

So, are there any dialect changes near the canal? Why are there such phenomena? The second is the local cuisine. Why is it called the local cuisine? Because the cuisine of ordinary people cannot be separated from the local geographical characteristics. The third is residential buildings. 

Key to innovation

Tongzhou, a district in Beijing, was once a busy wharf at the northern end of the Grand Canal, and a vibrant and prosperous trade hub. Recently, the Tongzhou Grand Canal Forest Park, which opened in 2010, has attracted a steady stream of visitors for its rich culture and scenery. 

In Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province and the southern end of the Grand Canal, a "floating" building has quietly risen on its bank. 

It is the China Grand Canal Museum (its tentative name) under construction, and a landmark project of the Grand Canal National Culture Park to be completed by the end of 2025. 

In Ge's eyes, much has been done in its preservation and inheritance, and the public has gained a better understanding of the Grand Canal. 

For its future development, "on the one hand, we must preserve both the canal's tangible and intangible cultural heritage," said Ge. 

"On the other hand, for the aspects that still exist and have room for development, creative and modern transformations must be carried out."