Built in 468 BC, The Grand Canal is composed of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, Sui-Tang Canal and Zhedong Canal. As the oldest and longest man-made canal in the world, the Grand Canal is about 3,200 long with a history of over 2,500 years. It starts at Beijing in the north, running through Tianjin, Hebei Province, Shandong Province, Henan Province, Anhui Province, Jiangsu Province, and Zhejiang Province along its way, linking five great rivers, including the Hai River, the Huai River, the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, and the Qiantang River.
Today, the ancient Grand Canal flows into a new era with new opportunities. The Grand Canal covers six distinctive regional cultures, including Beijing-Tianjin, Yanzhao, Qilu, Central Plains, Huaiyang, and Wuyue. The areas along the route have 23 national-level historical and cultural cities, which are extremely rich in both cultural and economic resources. On June 22th, 2014, the 38th session of UNESCO World Heritage’s committee announced the Grand Canal as UNESCO World Heritage. This announcement increased the amount of China’s World Heritage Sites to 46. At the end of 2019, China has issued a plan for the construction of national culture parks for the Great Wall, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and the Long March, which will get a better display, protection, and utilization.
As a part of Visiting China Online program, China Cultural Centre in Sydney has launched Millenniums of History and New Landscape-Tourism along the Grand Canal Online Broadcasting Exhibition. This broadcasting exhibition will highlight the characteristics, the profound history, and cultural heritage of the Grand Canal, showing the wisdom of the people and the high-quality economic and social development of the eight provinces and cities along the Grand Canal.
