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Grand Canal receives World Heritage status
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THE Grand Canal was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list on Sunday in Doha, Qatar. Meanwhile, the Grand Canal City Tourism Promotion League was established yesterday in Hangzhou by 18 cities — including Beijing, Tianjin, Yangzhou, Suzhou and Hangzhou — along the waterway.
The league will promote the canal with a group of tour routes, a combination of Grand Canal foods, a series of tourism festivals, a website, a series of souvenirs, a Grand Canal ambassador, and a canal passport.
The Grand Canal is the world’s longest artificial river, stretching 1,794 kilometers from Beijing to Hangzhou. Along the way it passes Tianjin and through the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. It also links the Yellow and Yangtze rivers.
It was built in stages between 486 BC and 1293. It was originally built to transport rice from the river valleys to cities, but eventually became a powerful symbol of national unity.
UNESCO’s evaluation committee said: “The Grand Canal is a vast waterway system in the north-eastern and central-eastern plains of China … conceived as a unified means of communication for the Empire ... (and) led to a series of gigantic worksites, creating the world’s largest and most extensive civil engineering project prior to the Industrial Revolution. It formed the backbone of the Empire’s inland communication system, transporting grain and strategic raw materials, and supplying rice to feed the population ... It has played an important role in ensuring the country’s economic prosperity and stability and continues today as a major means of internal communication.”
Tong Mingkang, director of the Chinese delegation that filed the application, said the Grand Canal will receive better protection from the central government now that it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site.
“We want the ancient river to be newly splendid and for it to have a sustainable future,” Tong said.
Hangzhou has already spent 24 billion yuan (US$3.85 billion) protecting and promoting the waterway within its jurisdiction, said Shao Yi, director of the Hangzhou Grand Canal Comprehensive Protection Committee, in a speech marking the formation of the league.
He said since 2006 the Hangzhou government has renovated old houses and other buildings along the canal, developed canal tourism products, compiled books, studied regulations for protecting the canal and organized festivals.
Xinhua News Agency reported that participants at the UNESCO meeting also said the canal demonstrates the diligence and wisdom of Chinese people, adding its inclusion has enriched the content of World Heritage sites.
China now has 47 World Heritage sites. Two are in Hangzhou — the Grand Canal and West Lake.
“Applying for World Heritage status is a way to protect them,” said Wang Shuifa, director of the Hangzhou Office for Grand Canal Protection and World Cultural Heritage Bidding.
Wang Zhe, an engineer of the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage, said: “The Hangzhou section of the Grand Canal is like a living zombie because people still use it and live near it.
“We’ve spent much time and energy looking for something similar in the world without success,” he added. “The history and length of the Grand Canal is unique.”
Zhang Shuheng, a member of the Expert Committee for Grand Canal Protection and World Cultural Heritage Bidding, said: “The Grand Canal is a witness to the history of water transportation in China.”
According to UNESCO’s convention, receiving World Heritage status comes with great responsibility, to “endeavor, in so far as possible, and as appropriate for each country” to protect the heritage.
Hangzhou has already had some experience in this regard since West Lakes was added to the list in 2011. The city established an organization to supervise and protect the famous lake after it promised to make it “the people’s lake.”
After UNESCO approved the Grand Canal, Hangzhou said it will ensure the waterway remains a public resource for everyone to enjoy.
The government also said it will follow instructions given by the International Council on Monuments and Sites.
Meanwhile, the Hangzhou Tourism Commission is now with other cities planning Grand Canal tours so sightseers can visit several cities along the waterway.
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