Jinghang canal
In fact, the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal has a long history. As early as the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, the Grand Canal was partially excavated. In 486 BC, Fu Cha, the king of Wu, dug a ditch 170 km long between the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River for the northern expedition to Qi. In the Warring States period, due to the popularity of iron farm tools, the construction of water conservancy projects gradually increased. In 360 BC and 329 BC, Wei Huiwang built a gap, connecting Shui Ying with the Yellow River and communicating the Huaihe River Basin. After the gap, I came to the chess game in the Chujiang Korean world. The construction of Hangou and Gorge laid the foundation for the opening of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal.
canal
During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao invaded Yuan Shao in the north and dug ditches in the lower reaches of the Yellow River to transport grain. Baigou became the foundation of Yongji Canal. In the Sui Dynasty, in order to connect the North and South economies and consolidate Luoyang's economic position, Yang Di decided to open the Grand Canal from Zhuo Jun (Beijing) to Luoyang and Hangzhou. Among them, from Luoyang to Zhuo Jun is Yongji Canal, which extends and broadens Baigou, utilizes and dredges the Qinhe River, and connects the Haihe River and the Yellow River Basin.
Grand Canal
In 605 AD, Yang Di ordered the digging of Tongji Canal. Tongji Canal extends the gap, connecting Huai 'an and Kaifeng, with a total length of 650 kilometers. Since the Huaihe River is connected with the Yangtze River through the Han River, Yang Di went south to Jiangdu by dragon boat after the Tongji Canal was completed. In 6 10, Yang Di ordered the construction of the Jiangnan Canal connecting Zhenjiang and Hangzhou. So far, the 2700-kilometer Grand Canal has been opened.
Map of the Grand Canal in Sui and Tang Dynasties
The opening of the Grand Canal greatly promoted the economic development of the Tang Dynasty. By the late Tang Dynasty, industrial and commercial cities such as Hangzhou, Yangzhou, Chuzhou (Huai 'an), Xuzhou, Luoyang and xing zhou (Xingtai) appeared along the Grand Canal. In the late Tang Dynasty, the central government basically relied on canals to transport grain from southeast to Guanzhong. In the Song Dynasty, Kaifeng along the Grand Canal became Tokyo, and it became the largest city in the world at that time, relying on the shipping of Bianhe River (a section of Tongji Canal).
Bianhe River in Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival
During the Yuan Dynasty, China's political focus shifted to Beijing. In order to make the food in the southeast region be transported to Beijing quickly, Yuan Shizu "straightened" the canal. The newly excavated canal is divided into five sections, namely Tonghui River in the north, North Canal from Tongzhou District to Tianjin, South Canal from Tianjin to Linqing, Lu Canal from Linqing to Taierzhuang, and Middle Canal from Taierzhuang to Huai 'an. 1293, the Grand Canal was opened, marking the formation of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal today. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the canal was dredged and widened.
Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Road Map
It took 1779 years from Fu Cha, the king of Wu, dug the Han River in 486 BC to the opening of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal in 293. During this 1779 dynasty, canals were dug and dredged. So the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, like the Great Wall, is the crystallization of Chinese civilization. Among them, Yang Di and Yuan Shizu made the most outstanding contributions to the canal. Although the shipping value of the Grand Canal is not as good as before, it still plays an important role in irrigation and transportation.