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Grand Canal Museum traces history of ancient artery
By Tan Meiyi |
April 13, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
VISITORS to the China Grand Canal Museum can learn the history of the world's longest canal - 1,176 kilometers - and its role in Chinese civilization.
The Grand Canal of China has a history that rivals that of the Great Wall in Beijing, though it is less known.
The engineering marvel begins in Beijing and runs through Tianjin and Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, terminating in Hangzhou.
The Grand Canal dates back to the Spring and Autumn Period (722-481 BC) when a section was built for trade and military use. During the Sui Dynasty (AD 581-618), large-scale projects extended the canal from Beijing to Hangzhou to transport food from the rice-rich plains of southern China to the north.
Since that time, it became a vital commercial artery, playing an important role in the flourishing commerce of other dynasties.
Enter the museum
The four-year-old museum at the Canal Culture Square features numerous exhibits, artifacts, multimedia and interactive activities.
The entrance hall gives a general introduction and shows a timeline of the world's canals, with the Grand Canal of China one of the earliest completed.
It features ancient tools and explains the monumental engineering feat and suffering of peasant laborers. As with construction of the Great Wall, which claimed many lives in the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), the Grand Canal construction also cost many lives; over the years an estimated 3 million laborers toiled, some for their entire lives.
After the fall of the Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) rose to become one of China's greatest and most vibrant, economically and culturally. The Grand Canal was the foundation for flourishing internal trade.
The second hall shows the hydrographics and how the waterway changed over the years. The third hall features cities along the canal.
Yangzhou in Jiangsu Province benefited greatly from the trade during the Tang Dynasty and was the main port for goods, especially grain, to be shipped north.
Hence, the Grand Canal became the lifeline of China, enabling transport, food distribution and cultural exchange. This can be seen in the fourth hall in the Canal Culture exhibit.
In its construction and maintenance, the canal was a gauge of a dynasty's wealth and success. It was usually well-maintained during a dynasty's prime but deteriorated as the dynasty declined.
Over the years the canal has been ravaged by war, its dikes and dams on the Yellow River were destroyed to stop the advance of the Jurden tribes during their invasion of the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
In 1855, during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the Yellow River burst its banks and surged to the sea, causing widespread flooding and disrupting the course of the Grand Canal.
The late 1880s brought industrial change to China and the opening of major railways that replaced the Grand Canal. The waterway fell into disrepair.
In 2005, the Grand Canal was recognized as a national cultural relic. Provincial governments of Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang have planned and undertaken renovation projects. Conservation of the canal's relics and its ecology have also been undertaken.
After centuries of defining China's economy and cultural landscape, the Grand Canal is finally beginning to ascend to the prominence of the Great Wall of China.
The Grand Canal of China has a history that rivals that of the Great Wall in Beijing, though it is less known.
The engineering marvel begins in Beijing and runs through Tianjin and Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, terminating in Hangzhou.
The Grand Canal dates back to the Spring and Autumn Period (722-481 BC) when a section was built for trade and military use. During the Sui Dynasty (AD 581-618), large-scale projects extended the canal from Beijing to Hangzhou to transport food from the rice-rich plains of southern China to the north.
Since that time, it became a vital commercial artery, playing an important role in the flourishing commerce of other dynasties.
Enter the museum
The four-year-old museum at the Canal Culture Square features numerous exhibits, artifacts, multimedia and interactive activities.
The entrance hall gives a general introduction and shows a timeline of the world's canals, with the Grand Canal of China one of the earliest completed.
It features ancient tools and explains the monumental engineering feat and suffering of peasant laborers. As with construction of the Great Wall, which claimed many lives in the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), the Grand Canal construction also cost many lives; over the years an estimated 3 million laborers toiled, some for their entire lives.
After the fall of the Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) rose to become one of China's greatest and most vibrant, economically and culturally. The Grand Canal was the foundation for flourishing internal trade.
The second hall shows the hydrographics and how the waterway changed over the years. The third hall features cities along the canal.
Yangzhou in Jiangsu Province benefited greatly from the trade during the Tang Dynasty and was the main port for goods, especially grain, to be shipped north.
Hence, the Grand Canal became the lifeline of China, enabling transport, food distribution and cultural exchange. This can be seen in the fourth hall in the Canal Culture exhibit.
In its construction and maintenance, the canal was a gauge of a dynasty's wealth and success. It was usually well-maintained during a dynasty's prime but deteriorated as the dynasty declined.
Over the years the canal has been ravaged by war, its dikes and dams on the Yellow River were destroyed to stop the advance of the Jurden tribes during their invasion of the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
In 1855, during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the Yellow River burst its banks and surged to the sea, causing widespread flooding and disrupting the course of the Grand Canal.
The late 1880s brought industrial change to China and the opening of major railways that replaced the Grand Canal. The waterway fell into disrepair.
In 2005, the Grand Canal was recognized as a national cultural relic. Provincial governments of Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang have planned and undertaken renovation projects. Conservation of the canal's relics and its ecology have also been undertaken.
After centuries of defining China's economy and cultural landscape, the Grand Canal is finally beginning to ascend to the prominence of the Great Wall of China.
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