Reviving the Grand Canal community
February 20, 2013, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Hangzhou Grand Canal Protection Committee has managed to preserve and recreate the style and urban architecture along the canal, while upgrading and landscaping the canal banks and reviving the community along the river. The project finished in 2006.
The Small River Straight Street is only one of a series of preserved neighborhoods along the canal. Small shops, restaurants and tea houses have been opened in the old and new brick-and-wood houses that used to be stores, eateries and tea houses. Museums showcase canal culture.
"We have a rare case in Hangzhou where the ancient canal passes right through the city and through crowded neighborhoods, just as it did in the old times," Gao Xiaohui, deputy director of the Hangzhou Grand Canal Protection Committee, tells Shanghai Daily.
"In many other canal cities, a new and larger canal in the suburbs has replaced the ancient canal going through the city, but here in Hangzhou, cargo ships still travel through the city every day," Gao adds.
Vessels are limited to less than 500 tons and traffic on the canal is restricted during the National College Entrance Exam in summer, just as traffic is diverted on land.
Water taxis are used by commuters on the canal and tourist boats also play the canal where visitors can enjoy a bit of nostalgia.
A new second canal is under construction in the Hangzhou suburbs. It will accommodate loaded vessels weighing as much as 1,000 tons. The new canal will help meet the increasing demand for water transport and help protect the ancient canal. The old, well-preserved waterway will continue to be used.
The Small River Straight Street is only one of a series of preserved neighborhoods along the canal. Small shops, restaurants and tea houses have been opened in the old and new brick-and-wood houses that used to be stores, eateries and tea houses. Museums showcase canal culture.
"We have a rare case in Hangzhou where the ancient canal passes right through the city and through crowded neighborhoods, just as it did in the old times," Gao Xiaohui, deputy director of the Hangzhou Grand Canal Protection Committee, tells Shanghai Daily.
"In many other canal cities, a new and larger canal in the suburbs has replaced the ancient canal going through the city, but here in Hangzhou, cargo ships still travel through the city every day," Gao adds.
Vessels are limited to less than 500 tons and traffic on the canal is restricted during the National College Entrance Exam in summer, just as traffic is diverted on land.
Water taxis are used by commuters on the canal and tourist boats also play the canal where visitors can enjoy a bit of nostalgia.
A new second canal is under construction in the Hangzhou suburbs. It will accommodate loaded vessels weighing as much as 1,000 tons. The new canal will help meet the increasing demand for water transport and help protect the ancient canal. The old, well-preserved waterway will continue to be used.
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