The most ancient part of the canal is the section between the Yangtze and Huaihe. As pointed out by Confucius , this part was built around 486BC and was repaid and enlarged in the 3rd century AD. The southern part, between the Yangtze and Hangzhou, was built early in the 7th century AD (initially named Jiangnan River). It is said that the northern part was constructed between 1280-1283. The northern portion of the canal is now of little use as a means of communications between the north and south: It is poorly built, neglected and charged with the mud-laden waters of the Yellow River. The central and southern portions of the canal are still largely used.

 Unparalleled worldwide

The Grand Canal of China is the world's oldest and longest canal, far surpassing the world's other two grand canals: the Suez and Panama Canal.

The canal, almost 2,500 years old, runs from Hangzhou, southwest of Shanghai , north to Tianjin, and then to Beijing. Its route winds through some of China's most fertile and heavily populated regions, making it a vital artery for transporting food and other goods. More importantly, in a country dominated by west-east-flowing rivers, the Grand Canal provides a north-south bridge between several river systems. Historically, in a country often divided into the north and south, the canal has served as a significant unifying factor.

No other canal or system of canals on earth tops the Grand Canal of China. The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway of the United States protects ships behind a seawall of islands serving as barriers, and allows them to travel 1,200 miles from the Key West, to Florida to Norfolk, Virginia without ever having to enter the open sea. Although this particular canal is, in fact, slightly longer than the Grand Canal, despite some human intervention, such as dredging and rearranging, it was not man-made.

There is nothing in the United States that truly compares to China's Grand Canal. The Erie Canal, for example, once played an economic role as important as that of the Grand Canal -- but not for nearly as long. But as the area's emerging railroads, highways and air routes made the Erie Canal obsolete and irrelevant, China's Grand Canal, too, has been marginalized by new turnpikes and rail routes. However, it continues to serve as an important local and regional artery, as well as a water diversion ditch that is simply too efficient, useful and attractive to abandon.

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