The Grand Canal (Chinese: 大运河; pinyin: Dà yùnhé) is a system of connected canals that link major rivers and lakes in northern and eastern China. It was an important water route for moving goods and people between the north and south during medieval and premodern China. It is the longest man-made waterway in the world and is listed as a World Heritage Site.
The Grand Canal has changed its route many times over history. Its main path today, called the Jing–Hang Grand Canal, is about 1,776 km (1,104 mi) long. It connects Beijing in the north to Hangzhou in the south and is divided into six main parts. The southern sections have changed little over time. The Jiangnan Canal begins at the Qiantang River in Hangzhou’s Jianggan District, travels around Lake Tai near Jiaxing, Suzhou, and Wuxi, and joins the Yangtze River at Zhenjiang. The Inner Canal runs from Yangzhou across the Yangtze, through Gaoyou Lake, and connects to the Huai River at Huai’an, which was once where the Yellow River used to flow. The Middle Canal goes from Huai’an to Luoma Lake near Suqian and then to Nansi Lakes near Weishan. The Lu Canal starts at Nansi Lakes near Jining and joins the Yellow River at Liangshan, splitting off near Liaocheng’s Dong’e County before reaching Linqing. The Southern Canal (named for its location in Hebei) runs from Linqing to the Hai River at Tianjin. The Northern Canal connects Tianjin to Tongzhou near Beijing. This route passes through Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Hebei, and the cities of Tianjin and Beijing. In 2014, the Chinese government and UNESCO added the Eastern Zhejiang Canal from Hangzhou to Ningbo, following the old Tongji and Yongji Canals, as part of the Grand Canal.
The oldest parts of the Grand Canal were built in the early 5th century BC during China’s Spring and Autumn period. These sections helped the states of Wu and Yue move supplies and travel. The canal was expanded and completed by Emperor Yang of Sui in 609 AD. It connected the fertile Jiangnan region in the south to Luoyang, the capital of the Central Plain, and to the emperor’s armies in the north. However, the Sui dynasty fell quickly due to rebellions caused by the difficult labor required to build the canals and the unpopular war with Goguryeo. Despite this, the canal helped connect major water systems and cities, which was very useful during the Tang dynasty.
Additional canals were built during the Tang dynasty to link Chang’an (now Xi’an) further west, improving connections between the Guanzhong region and the Central Plain. Towns along the canal became important economic centers. Over time, parts of the canal fell into disrepair during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period and the Song dynasty. Flooding from the Yellow River, linked to climate changes during the Medieval Warm Period, damaged the canal. During wars, high dikes along rivers were sometimes broken to stop enemy forces. Despite these challenges, each dynasty repaired and improved the canal and its flood control systems. The canal helped reunite northern and southern China and made officials in charge of the canal and nearby salt works very wealthy. Even after damage from floods, rebellions, and wars, the canal became even more important when the national capital moved to Khanbaliq (now Beijing) under Kublai Khan of the Yuan dynasty, and later under the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Although railways and highways are now more common, the People’s Republic of China has worked to improve the Grand Canal’s use since the end of the Chinese Civil War. The section south of the Yellow River is still heavily used by barges carrying large amounts of cargo. Concerns about pollution and the canal’s role in the South-North Water Diversion Project—designed to provide clean water to the north—have led to efforts to improve water quality along the canals.
The highest point on the Grand Canal is 42 meters (138 feet) above sea level in the foothills of Shandong. In the 10th century, the Song official and engineer Qiao Weiyue invented the pound lock, which helped ships move between different water levels. The Grand Canal has been admired by many visitors throughout history, including the Japanese monk Ennin, the Persian historian Rashid al-Din Hamadani, the Korean official Choe Bu, and the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci.
History
During the late Spring and Autumn period, King Fuchai of Wu, whose capital was in present-day Suzhou, traveled north to attack the State of Qi. He ordered the construction of a canal for trading and to transport supplies to his forces if they fought the northern states of Song and Lu. This canal became known as the Han or Hangou Canal. Work began in 486 BC, starting from south of Yangzhou to north of Huai'an in Jiangsu. Within three years, the Han Canal connected the Yangtze River to the Huai River by using existing waterways, lakes, and marshes.
The Han Canal is considered the second oldest part of the later Grand Canal. The Hong Canal, which likely came before it, linked the Yellow River near Kaifeng to the Si and Bian rivers and influenced the design of the Grand Canal in the north. The exact date of the Hong Canal’s construction is unknown. It was first mentioned by the diplomat Su Qin in 330 BC when discussing state boundaries. The historian Sima Qian (145–90 BC) did not record a specific date for it, placing its discussion after the legendary works of Yu the Great. Modern scholars now believe the Hong Canal was built in the 6th century BC.
The reunification of China under the Sui dynasty (581–618) ended three centuries of chaos caused by the Upheaval of the Five Barbarians. This stability allowed repairs to existing canals and flood control systems and the building of new canals. The Sui dynasty focused on connecting the economic and agricultural resources of Jiangnan in the southeast to the capital at Luoyang in the west and to supply Sui armies fighting in the Goguryeo–Sui War in the northeast. The Grand Canal also reduced the need for soldiers to farm while guarding China’s borders with Goguryeo and the First Turkic Khaganate.
In 587, a levee-building project along the Yellow River, led by engineer Liang Rui, included canal lock gates to control water levels. Double slipways were added to move boats over when water levels were too different for flash locks. By 600, silt buildup blocked the Hong Canal, preventing large river barges from passing. Chief engineer Yuwen Kai suggested building a new canal parallel to the existing one, diverging at Chenliu (Yanzhou). The new canal avoided Xuzhou and Suzhou to connect directly to the Huai River near Hongze Lake. With the labor of five million people, supervised by Ma Shumou, the first major section of the Grand Canal was completed in 605 and named the Bian Qu.
The Grand Canal was fully completed between 604 and 609 under Emperor Yang of Sui. He linked his southern capital, Yangzhou, to Luoyang via the Tongji Canal. He also connected Yangzhou to Suzhou and Hangzhou through the Jiangnan Canal and linked Luoyang to his campaigns against Goguryeo via the Yongji Canal. After its completion in 609, Emperor Yang traveled by boat along the canal, leading a flotilla 105 km (65 mi) long from the north to Yangzhou. This project required massive conscripted labor, as detailed in the Record of the Opening of the Canal.
At this time, the Grand Canal used a mix of artificial channels, natural waterways, and canals rather than a single continuous manmade canal. An imperial roadway ran alongside the canals, with stables built at regular intervals to support a courier system. Large trees were planted along parts of the canal to act as windbreaks.
During the Tang dynasty (618–907), the capital at Chang’an was a thriving city, but Yangzhou, near the Grand Canal, became the economic hub of the era. Yangzhou was the headquarters for the government salt monopoly and the largest pre-modern industrial center in the empire. It also served as the midpoint for trade between the north and south. The canal system lowered the cost of shipping grain collected as taxes from the Yangtze Delta to northern China. Minor improvements were made after the Sui dynasty, but the Grand Canal’s design remained largely unchanged between the Sui and Tang dynasties.
By 735, it was recorded that about 149,685,400 kilograms (165,000 short tons) of grain were transported annually along the canal. The Tang government managed canal locks and built granaries along the route to store grain in case of floods or disasters. Transport Commissioner Liu Yan (763–779) designed special river barges to fit the depths of each canal section.
After the An Lushan rebellion (755–763), the economy of northern China suffered greatly due to wars and flooding. In 858, a massive flood along the Grand Canal destroyed farmland and killed thousands in the North China Plain. Such disasters could weaken a dynasty’s legitimacy, as people might believe the ruling family had lost the Mandate of Heaven. This made maintaining a functional canal system a priority for dynastic rulers.
Kaifeng became a major hub and later the capital of the Song dynasty (960–1279). While Tang and Song ports like Guangzhou and Quanzhou brought wealth through maritime trade, the Grand Canal drove the most economic activity within China. During the Song and earlier periods, barges sometimes sank near the Shanyang Yundao section, and local bandits stole tax grain. This led Assistant Commissioner Qiao Weiyue to invent the pound lock in 984. This system allowed ships to wait in a gated space while water levels were adjusted. The Chinese also built roofed hangars to protect ships.
Much of the Grand Canal was damaged after 1128 when Kaifeng’s governor, Du Chong, broke dykes and dams to flood the Yellow River and stop Jurchen invaders during the Jin–Song wars. This caused the river to shift south of Shandong, capturing the Si River’s course and emptying the Yellow River into Hongze Lake and the East China Sea for centuries. The Jin dynasty fought the Song in this region, and warfare damaged the canal until the Mongols invaded in the 13th century and began repairs.
Modern course
The Grand Canal officially runs from Beijing to Hangzhou over a total length of 1,794 km (1,115 mi). However, only the part from Hangzhou to Liangshan County is currently used for boat travel. Today, the canal is divided into seven sections. From south to north, these sections are the Jiangnan Canal, the Li Canal, the Inner Canal, the Middle Canal, the Lu Canal, the South Canal, the North Canal, and the Tonghui River.
Training Lake, called "Lianhu," was built to provide water to the Jiangnan section of the Grand Canal. Because the canal was man-made, there was not enough natural water to keep it at the right depth for boats to travel. To solve this, the lake was created to supply water to the canal. The government protected the lake from being used for farming or other purposes without proper taxes. However, over time, the government changed, and the lake was reclaimed for farming and irrigation. This caused the lake to become shallower and less useful for feeding water to the canal. The high cost of maintaining the lake made it impractical to use. Despite being man-made, the lake was known for its beauty and inspired many poems. Recently, the lake has been used for recreation, and efforts to restore it may begin.
The southernmost part of the Grand Canal runs from Hangzhou in Zhejiang, where it connects to the Qiantang River, to Zhenjiang in Jiangsu, where it meets the Yangtze River. After leaving Hangzhou, the canal travels north toward Beijing, passing near Lake Tai and through cities like Jiaxing, Suzhou, Wuxi, and Changzhou before reaching Zhenjiang.
The Jiangnan Canal, also called the "South of the Yangtze" Canal, is often used by barges to move coal, containers, and building materials to the busy delta. In crowded city areas, the canal is at least 100 meters wide, and it is often two or three times wider in the countryside. To reduce traffic jams, new canals have been built around major cities.
The Jiangnan Canal section in Suzhou flows through the western part of the city. It includes ten city gates, more than 20 traditional stone bridges, and historic areas, temples, and pavilions that have been well preserved.
The Inner Canal runs between the Yangtze and Huai rivers, passing near Shaobo, Gaoyou, and Hongze lakes in central Jiangsu. This section connects the cities of Huai'an and Yangzhou. The land to the west of the canal is higher than the land to the east. Historically, the western area, called Shanghe, has often flooded, while the eastern area, called Xiahe, has experienced less frequent but severe floods caused by failures in the Grand Canal's levees. Recent projects have helped divert floodwaters from Shanghe safely to the sea. Like the Jiangnan Canal, the Inner Canal is used by barges to move coal, building materials, and shipping containers across Jiangsu Province.
The "Middle Canal" section runs from Huai'an to Weishan Lake, passing through Luoma Lake and following multiple paths due to flooding from the Yellow River over centuries. One path goes through Pizhou, Tai'erzhuang, and enters Weishan Lake at Hanzhuang, heading toward Nanyang and Jining. This path is part of the New Nanyang Canal built in 1566. Another path runs near Xuzhou and enters Weishan Lake near Peixian. This path is less used today. The canal is used by barges to move coal and building materials across northern Jiangsu Province.
At Weishan Lake, both paths enter Shandong Province. From there to Linqing, the canal is called the Lu or "Shandong" Canal. It crosses lakes like Zhaoyang, Dushan, and Nanyang, which are connected by water. However, today, water diversions often leave these lakes dry. North of Nanyang Lake is the city of Jining. About 30 km (19 mi) north of Jining, the highest point of the canal, at 38.5 m (126 ft) above sea level, is at Nanwang. In the 1950s, a new canal was dug south of the old high point. The old section is now dry, and the new canal holds too little water to be navigable. About 50 km (31 mi) further north, near Dongping Lake, the canal reaches the Yellow River. By this point, the canal is dry and no longer connects to the river. It reappears in Liaocheng City on the north bank, where it flows through a renovated stone channel to reach Linqing on the Shandong-Hebei border. Liangshan County is the northern end of the canal for barge traffic.
The fifth section of the canal runs 524 km (326 mi) from Linqing to Tianjin along the canalized Wei River. Though one of the northernmost sections, its name comes from its position relative to Tianjin. The Wei River is heavily polluted, and drought and industrial water use have made it too shallow for boats. The canal, now in Hebei Province, passes through Dezhou and Cangzhou. In city centers, the canal appears deep, but its depth is kept by weirs, and it is mostly dry in the countryside. At its end, the canal joins the Hai River in the center of Tianjin City before heading northwest.
In Tianjin, the canal moves northwest, following the course of the Yongding River, a tributary of the Hai River, before turning toward Tongzhou near Beijing. Here, the modern canal ends, and a Grand Canal Cultural Park has been built. During the Yuan dynasty, a canal on the Tonghui River connected Tongzhou to a wharf called Houhai or "rear sea" in central Beijing. However, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the water level in the Tonghui River dropped, and ships could no longer travel from Tongzhou to Beijing. Tongzhou became the northern shipping end of the canal. Cargo was unloaded at Tongzhou and transported to Beijing by land. The Tonghui River still exists as a wide, concrete-lined storm channel and drain for Beijing's suburbs.
The Eastern Zhejiang Canal runs 239 km (149 mi) across the coastal plain south of Hangzhou Bay in northern Zhejiang. It begins at the Qiantang River in Xixing, Binjiang District, Hangzhou; crosses the Cao'e River in Shaoxing; and connects to the Yong River and ports on the East China Sea at Ningbo.
This Hangzhou–Ningbo canal was first built as the Shanyin Canal in Shaoxing by the Yue official Fan Li in the early 5th century BC during China's Spring and Autumn period. Despite challenges in connecting different watersheds, the current route was completed with the Xixing Canal built by the Jin official He Xun in the late 3rd century AD. The canal was an important transportation route during times of political instability in medieval
Registered Sections and Sites of the World Heritage complex
The Grand Canal World Heritage site is made up of 31 sections and several other heritage sites.
Elevations
The canal officially crosses the watersheds of five river systems, but the differences between them are very small. This means the canal has only one highest section, called a summit. The canal bed's elevation ranges from 1 meter below sea level in Hangzhou to 38.5 meters above sea level at the summit. In Beijing, the canal is 27 meters above sea level, where water is supplied by streams flowing from mountains to the west. Water moves from Beijing toward Tianjin, from Nanwang north toward Tianjin, and from Nanwang south toward Yangzhou. The Jiangnan Canal's water level stays just slightly above sea level, with the Zhenjiang ridge being 12 meters higher than the Yangtze River's level.
Uses
From the Tang to Qing dynasties, the Grand Canal was the main route connecting northern and southern China. It was crucial for moving grain to Beijing. While grain was the main cargo, other goods were also transported, and the area along the canal became an important economic region. Records show that at its busiest, over 8,000 boats carried four to six million dan (240,000–360,000 metric tons) of grain each year. The ease of travel allowed rulers to visit southern China. During the Qing dynasty, the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors made twelve trips to the south, reaching Hangzhou on all but one occasion.
The Grand Canal also helped people in the north and south of China share culture and politics. It left a strong impression on some early European visitors. Marco Polo described the canal’s arched bridges and the busy trade in its cities in the 13th century. Matteo Ricci, a Roman Catholic missionary, traveled from Nanjing to Beijing along the canal in the late 16th century.
Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the canal has mainly transported large amounts of goods like bricks, gravel, sand, diesel, and coal. The Jianbi ship locks on the Yangtze River now handle about 75,000,000 metric tons of cargo yearly. The Li Canal is expected to move 100,000,000 metric tons in the coming years. When first built, the canal was a major transportation route linking northern and southern China. However, with the development of modern highways, railways, and high-speed trains, passenger travel on the canal has become much less common.
Today, ships can only travel as far as Jining. The section from Jining to Beijing is not usable for transport due to silt buildup from the Yellow River and a lack of water. In 2019, plans were announced to restore transportation up to Tai’an.
The Grand Canal has been upgraded to serve as the Eastern Route of the South-North Water Transfer Project. Water is pumped from the Yangtze River near Yangzhou using a pumping station that moves 400 cubic meters per second. This water is then sent through 23 stations until it reaches Nanwang. From there, it flows by gravity. One branch leads to the Shandong peninsula, and the main canal bypasses the Yellow River through 7.9 km of tunnels before reaching reservoirs in Tianjin. This extra water has allowed projects to restart shipping in the northern part of the Grand Canal.
Notable travelers
In 1169, China was split into two parts: the north was ruled by the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty, and the south was ruled by the Southern Song dynasty. The Southern Song Emperor Xiaozong sent a group of people to the Jurchen to send New Year greetings to their ruler. A scholar-official named Lou Yue, who worked as a secretary for the group, wrote about their journey, which included travel on the Grand Canal. He later gave his diary, called Diary of a Journey to the North, to the emperor when he returned.
In 1170, the poet, politician, and historian Lu You traveled by boat on the Grand Canal from Shaoxing to the Yangtze River. He recorded his journey in a diary.
In the late 1200s, the traveler Marco Polo visited many places in China. His trips included time on the Grand Canal, which was an important route for shipping goods like silk, porcelain, and wine.
In 1345, the Maghrebi traveler Ibn Battuta visited China and traveled along the Abe Hayat River (Grand Canal) up to the capital, Khanbalik (Beijing).
In 1488, the Korean scholar Choe Bu traveled the full length of the Grand Canal while going from Zhejiang to Beijing (and later to Korea). He wrote a detailed description of his trip.
In 1600, the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci traveled from Nanjing to Beijing using the Grand Canal waterway. His goal was to gain the support of the Wanli Emperor of the Ming dynasty with the help of Wang Zhongde, who was the Director of the Board of Rites in the central government at the time.
In 1793, after an unsuccessful diplomatic mission to Jehol, a large part of Lord Macartney’s embassy returned south to the Yangtze delta by traveling along the Grand Canal.
In 1848, Robert Fortune reached Hang Chow Foo by boat on the Grand Canal during his search for tea plants.