The Grand Canal is the longest canal or artificial river in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its main artery, known to the Chinese as the Jing–Hang or Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal, is reckoned to extend for 1,776 km (1,104 mi) and is divided into 6 main sections. The Jiangnan Canal runs from the Qiantang River at Hangzhou to the Yangtze River at Zhenjiang; the Inner Canal from the Yangtze at Yangzhou to the Huai River at Huai'an, which for centuries was also its junction with the former course of the Yellow River; the Middle Canal from Huai'an to the Nansi Lakes; the Lu Canal from the lakes past Jining and the present course of the Yellow River to the Wei River at Linqing; the Southern Canal from Linqing to the Hai River at Tianjin; and the Northern Canal from Tianjin to Tongzhou on the outskirts of Beijing. As such, it passes through the provinces and municipalities of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Hebei, Tianjin, and Beijing. Since 2013 and 2014, the Chinese government and UNESCO further recognize the Eastern Zhejiang Canal from Hangzhou to Ningbo and certain sites along the former Tongji and Yongji Canals as official components of the Grand Canal.
A commandery was a historical administrative division of China that was in use from the Eastern Zhou until the early Tang dynasty. Several neighboring countries adopted Chinese commanderies as the basis for their own administrative divisions.
Huai'an, formerly Huaiyin, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province in Eastern China. As of 2020, the built-up area (metro) of its 3 central urban districts had 2,544,767 inhabitants and the prefecture-level city as a whole had 4,556,230 inhabitants, down from 4.8 million in 2010.
Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou and between Nanjing and Changzhou. Zhenjiang was formerly the provincial capital of Jiangsu and remains as an important transportation hub. As of the 2020 census, its total population was 3,210,418 inhabitants whom 1,266,790 lived in the built-up area made of the 3 urban districts. The town is best known both in China and abroad for Chinkiang vinegar, a fragrant black vinegar that is a staple of Chinese cooking.
Jiangnan, also romanized as Kiangnan, Chiang-nan, and Jiang Nan, is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of its delta. The region encompasses the city of Shanghai, the southern part of Jiangsu Province, the southeastern part of Anhui Province, the northern part of Jiangxi Province and the northern part of Zhejiang Province. The most important cities in the area include Anqing, Changzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Shaoxing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Wenzhou, Yangzhou and Zhenjiang.
Fuchai, sometimes also written Fucha, was the last king of the state of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. His armies constructed important canals linking the Yellow, Ji, and Huai River systems of the North China Plain with central China's Yangtze River, but he is most remembered in Chinese culture for the role he played in the legends concerning Goujian, the revenge-seeking king of Yue.
The Zhengguo Canal, Zhengguoqu or Chengkuo Canal, named after its designer, Zheng Guo, is a large canal located in Shaanxi province, China. The canal irrigates the Guanzhong plain, north of Xi'an. Together with the Dujiangyan Irrigation System and Lingqu Canal, it is one of the three biggest water conservation projects built before the Qin dynasty in ancient China. The canal connects the Jing river and Luo river, northern tributaries of the Wei River.
Hongze Lake, previously known as Lake Hungtze or Hung-tse, is the fifth-largest freshwater lake in China. Although it is known to have existed from antiquity, it drastically increased in size during the Qing when the Yellow River—then still flowing south of Shandong—merged with the Huai. The increased sediment and flow combined to greatly expand the lake, swallowing the previous regional center of Sizhou and the Ming Zuling tombs. During the imperial and republican periods, the lake formed part of the border between Jiangsu and Anhui provinces but since 1955 the previous borders have been shifted to place it entirely under Jiangsu's administration. It is now encompassed by the counties of Sihong and Siyang in Suqian Prefecture and Xuyi and Hongze in Huai'an Prefecture. Since the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the lake has generally decreased in size as more of its inflow has been diverted for irrigation.
The Si River is a river in Shandong Province, China. It also ran through the area of modern Jiangsu Province until floods in 1194.
The economic history of China covers thousands of years and the region has undergone alternating cycles of prosperity and decline. China, for the last two millennia, was one of the world's largest and most advanced economies. Economic historians usually divide China's history into three periods: the pre-imperial era before the rise of the Qin; the early imperial era from the Qin to the rise of the Song ; and the late imperial era, from the Song to the fall of the Qing.
The Dan River, formerly known as the Dan Shui (丹水) or 800 Li Black River (八百里黑江), is a river located in Shaanxi province in the People's Republic of China. The longest tributary of the Han River, the Dan rises at Heilongkou (黑龙口) in the Qin Mountains of Shaanxi province then flows south east through Shangluo City, Danfeng County, Shangnan County and Xichuan County, Henan province before joining the Han River at Danjiangkou, Hubei province.
The Qinhuai River is a tributary of the Yangtze with a total length of 110 km. It flows through central Nanjing and is called "Nanjing's mother river". It is the "life blood" of the city. The Qinhuai River is divided into inner and outer rivers.
The Ji River was a former river in north-eastern China which gave its name to the towns of Jiyuan and Jinan. It disappeared during one of the massive Yellow River floods of 1852, as the Yellow River shifted its course from below the Shandong Peninsula to north of it. In the process, it overtook the Ji and assumed its bed.
The history of Zhengzhou, a city that is today the provincial capital of Henan Province, China spans over 10,000 years from its beginnings as a Neolithic settlement to its emergence as a trading port during the final years of the Qing dynasty.
The Eastern Zhejiang or Zhedong Canal, also known as the Hangzhou–Ningbo or Hangyong Canal, is a major canal connecting Hangzhou, Shaoxing, and Ningbo in northern Zhejiang, China. It runs 239 kilometres (149 mi), connecting the Qiantang, Cao'e, and Yong watersheds with Hangzhou's terminus for the Grand Canal and Ningbo's ports on the East China Sea. Since 2013, it has been officially considered the southernmost section of the Grand Canal itself.
The Ji Canal River or Jiyunhe is a semi-artificial river in North China Plain near the major city of Tianjin. It is an important part of Hai River watershed system. The total length of Jiyunhe as of today is about 145 km and it drains into the Bohai Sea near Tanggu. Jiyunhe was originally a natural river derived from a mountain called Baoqiu north of the Great Wall near Zunhua. The original length of this river was over 310 km. The section south of the Great Wall was artificially widened by Cao Cao during the Han dynasty so that it became navigable and thus it could be used to supply the frontline in the northeast. The upstream section of the river was gradually abandoned. In Ming dynasty, the channel was artificially broadened again to make it navigable to bigger ships. Since then, it became a supply line of Tianjin. Grains were shipped to Tianjin and nearby towns on this river, so it got a nickname of Grain River and was finally renamed as Jiyunhe which literally means Canal of Ji.
Pan Jixun (1521–1595), courtesy name Shiliang and pseudonym Yinchuan, was a Chinese scholar-bureaucrat and hydrologist of the Ming dynasty. He was noted for his monograph Overview of River Management.
The Pinglu Canal (平陆运河/平陸運河), is a 134.2 kilometer inland river I-class waterway under construction between Xijin reservoir on the Yu river in Hengzhou and the lower part of the Qin River, allowing access to the Beibu Gulf. Serious planning began in 2019 with full speed construction commencing from June of 2023. Operational completion is aimed for 2026. Three locks will be built, including what will be the world's largest water-conserving ship lock. This canal is the largest Chinese canal construction activity since consolidation of the Grand Canal during the Ming Dynasty. Excavation of 340 million tonnes of material is scheduled during the project.
