The Grand Canal in China is generally regarded as the oldest and longest man-made canal in the world. It begins in the north at Beijing and ends at Hangzhou. This has earned it the name of the Jing-Hang Canal. With a total length of 1,794 kilometers, the canal links up the five large rivers of Haihe, Huanghe (the Yellow River), Huaihe, Changjiang (the Yangtze) and Qiantangjiang. in ancient times, it served as the main artery of communication between north and south.

In 605 A.D., Emperor Yang Di of the Sui Dynasty succeeded to the throne. For the purpose of facilitating the transportation of goods and materials from the south to the north so that rare and precious fauna and flora could be collected from all parts of the country for his palace at Luoyang, he levied a million laborers to build a great canal with Luoyang as its center.

It took almost six whole years to complete the project. This gigantic undertaking had involved more than 150,000,000 man-days of work. Numerous men and women died of starvation, fatigue and illness due to the harsh and primitive living and working conditions, and many were simply beaten to death by overseers.

Mounting popular anger led to a series of peasant uprisings throughout the country. In the end his officials killed the emperor, and the Sui Dynasty came to an end.

But from the aspects of improving communication between north and south, promoting economic and cultural exchange and strengthening the unification of the country, the Grand Canal, like The Great Wall, is an extremely stupendous project in the history of Chinese civilization.

Related Links:
China Grand Canal: http://www.china-cruise.com/canal.htm

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