Trends: Grand Canal to apply for UNESCO World Heritage status
- Source: Global Times
- [16:31 November 05 2009]
- Comments
China's National Tourism Administration recently gave approval to the Shandong Provincial Tourism Planning and Design Institute which won the bid to design the Grand Canal of China Tour, the waterway between Beijing and Hanghzou. Expected to be finished by October 2010, the tour aims to develop the Grand Canal of China as a world-class destination, on par with the Great Wall and the Silk Road.
The Grand Canal of China, also known as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, is the longest ancient canal or man-made river in the world, which was originally built in the 5th century BC and finally combined into one during the Sui Dynasty (581-618 AD) to transport goods to the then capital Luoyang in today's Henan Province. It starts in Beijing and ends in Hangzhou, passing through Tianjin and the provinces of Hebei, Shangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, covering roughly 1,794 km (1,115 miles). Since the Sui Dynasty, the canal has promoted the economic growth of China's urban centers.
There are over 20 famous cities along the canal which is divided into six sections: the North Canal (Beijing - Tianjin), South Canal (Tianjin - Liaocheng), Shandong Canal (Liaocheng - Taierzhuang), Middle Canal (Taierzhuang - Suqian), Inner Canal (Huai'an - Yangzhou), and Jiangnan Canal (Zhenjiang - Hangzhou). The concepts of "preservation, experience, harmony and cognition" will be applied in the design of the tour.
Creating a tour of the Grand Canal will help prepare the area for its application for UNESCO World Heritage status. The plan to preserve the surrounding scenic sports around the canal at the provincial level will be finished by the end of this year, and the plan to preserve the whole canal will be finished by the end of 2010. The initial draft application of the canal for UNESCO World Heritage status will be filed in 2012, and the formal one will be entered the following year in 2013.
