On September 1, the Cangzhou Municipal Government of Hebei Province announced that the central urban section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in Cangzhou will be open to tourism, and tourists at home and abroad will have the opportunity to appreciate the masterpieces of ancient Chinese artificial waterways.
Xiang Hui, Mayor of CangzhouIn his speech at the opening ceremony, he said: “We and more than 230 representatives from all walks of life in the city gathered at Nanchuan Gudu Wharf to witness the historic moment of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal’s central section of Cangzhou tourism. This is the first time that ships have resumed sailing since the Grand Canal was suspended, and the silent canal channel is now ushering in a century of recovery.”
The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is an artificial river with the longest mileage, the largest project and the longest history in the world, of which the central urban section of Cangzhou is 13.7 kilometers long. The smooth navigation of this section is an important measure to promote the coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei.
The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is 1,794 kilometers long and has a history of more than 2,500 years. It starts from Beijing in the north and ends in Hangzhou in the south. It is an important water transportation route in Chinese history. Cangzhou is only 180 kilometers away from Beijing, the capital of China. About one-eighth of the Grand Canal flows through this ancient city, benefiting the people along the coast. In 2014, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was included in the World Heritage List.
Cangzhou, known as the “City of the Northern Canal”, has carried out all-round upgrading and reconstruction of the supporting projects along the Grand Canal in recent years. 12 tourist piers and 6 pedestrian landscape bridges were newly built, and 8 existing municipal bridges were beautified and optimized. With the Grand Canal as the center, Cangzhou has taken multiple measures to create a unique tourist destination for tourists at home and abroad. There are various historical and cultural projects along the Grand Canal such as Baishi Park, Canal Park, Nanchuanlou Cultural Block, and Garden Expo Park, as well as children’s entertainment, sports parks, catering, accommodation and other functional formats.
In order to bring the Grand Canal back to life, Cangzhou has actively implemented water diversion and replenishment projects in recent years. On the basis of 180 million cubic meters of water diversion in 2021, 300 million cubic meters of water will be diverted this year. At the same time, Cangzhou has also made great efforts in the greening and upgrading projects on both sides of the Grand Canal – more than 67,000 trees, the greening area reaches 2,065 mu (1.37 square kilometers), and a green ecological corridor is in sight. Cangzhou has truly achieved the “well-protected, well-inherited, well-utilized” Grand Canal culture, making this precious legacy left by our ancestors shine in the new era.
From September 1, 15 cruise ships moored at the dock have set sail for the first time, and tourists will be able to experience the profound history of Cangzhou and the historical and cultural relics along the Grand Canal.