Level 3 Reading 8A

Ch.15

Reading 8A CHINA'S GRAND CANAL For centuries, the power of Chinese emperors rose and fell with their control of the Grand Canal. Today, this waterway is shorter than it once was, but it is still the longest man-made river in the world. Importantly, the Grand Canal continues to provide a vital cultural and economic link for modern China. Construction Begins The original canal system began around the year 605. China's Emperor Yang realized that he needed a better way to feed his army. Specifically, he needed a way to move food quickly from China's southern rice growing region to the country 's north. So, the emperor ordered the construction of the first section of the Grand Canal, connecting existing canals, lakes, and rivers. An estimated one million people—mostly farmers—worked on the construction, which took six years. Over the next 500 years, the canal's importance grew. However, by 1127, parts had begun to deteriorate. In 1279, Kublai Khan began to repair and build new parts of the canal. This renovation created a more direct north-south route to and from Beijing. Future rulers continued to expand and improve the waterway, and it eventually became a vital national lifeline. In addition to moving rice around China, the Grand Canal was an important cultural conduit. Soldiers, merchants, and artists transported ideas, regional foods, and cultural practices from one part of China to another. According to legend, this is how Beijing acquired two of its best-known trademarks.

Peking duck, a dish from Shandong Province, and the Peking opera, from Anhui and Hubei regions, were both brought north via the canal. The Modern Canal For more than a thousand years, goods have been transported along the Grand Canal. Even today, the country's watery highway plays an important economic role in China. Boats continue to carry tons of coal, food, and other goods to points between Hangzhou and Jining— now the northernmost city the canal reaches. In addition, local governments—eager to increase tourism and real estate development—are beautifying areas along the canal. This development comes at a price, though. In Yangzhou, the city has torn down almost all of the older canal-side buildings. Farther south in the cities of Zhenjiang, Wuxi, and Hangzhou, the situation is similar. In Hangzhou, for example, almost all of the ancient buildings have been demolished. "Traditionally we talk about 18 main cities on the Grand Canal, and each had something unique and special about it," explains Zhou Xinhua, the former vice director of the Grand Canal museum in Hangzhou. "But now many of these cities are all the same: a thousand people with one face." In 2005, a group of citizens proposed that the historic Grand Canal be made a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This status would protect both the waterway and the architecture around it. "Every generation wants the next generation to understand it, to look at its monuments," said Zhu Bingren, an artist who cowrote this proposal. UNESCO status was officially granted in 2014. The hope now is that the Grand Canal—one of the world's great engineering accomplishments— will continue to link north and south China for centuries to come. CHINA'S LIFELINE This map shows the extent of China's Grand Canal at the height of its golden age (1368-1855). Running 1,770 kilometers from Beijing to Hangzhou, the canal transported everything from food to wood to textiles. Beginning in 1751, Emperor Qianlong (above) made six inspection tours of the Grand Canal, visiting different ports and cultural sites. By 1855, the Yellow River had changed course, destroying parts of the canal.

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