Hundreds of restoration projects carried out

Beijing has insisted on protection-oriented thought when restoring architectural and cultural relics along the Grand Canal in recent years.

Stretching 82 kilometers, the section of the world's longest man-made waterway in the Chinese capital is rich in cultural and historical legacy, and bears marks of the ancient era.

Beijing has carried out more than 220 relics protection and restoration projects, said Zhao Weidong, deputy head of the city's publicity department. Efforts include the demolishing of non-cultural buildings at the Baifu Spring relic site and reconstructing it into a Grand Canal park.

Also, an environmental improvement project was finished around Shichahai Lake, and a 3-km scenic trail was built around Qianhai and Xihai lakes, which are parts of Shichahai.

In its heyday, Shichahai formed the northern part of the Grand Canal, connecting Beijing with other cities in China.

"We strive to promote the coordinated development of the Grand Canal historical and cultural heritages and natural environment, and resort to the combination of ecological restoration, wetland construction and afforestation," Zhao said.

"We are aiming to transform the Grand Canal into a green waterway with a civilization dating back thousands of years, and an ecological corridor connecting the northern and southern parts of China," he added.

Advanced technological means have also been applied to protect the Grand Canal cultural heritage.

Chen Mingjie, head of the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau, said the bureau has implemented a project of disease investigation, data monitoring and collection along the waterway's Tonghui River section.

Currently, 88 investigation points and nine water sampling sites have been set up along the section to carry out water quality monitoring. Also, virtual reality panoramic cameras are being used to record the environment of the river and surrounding areas.

The Grand Canal, whose oldest section dates to the fifth century BC, is a vast waterway system running from Beijing in the north to Zhejiang province in the south. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014, becoming the 46th site of its kind in China.

Ling Ming, deputy director of the cultural heritage bureau, said: "Beijing has continued to promote the construction of a Grand Canal cultural belt and related national cultural parks, explored the city's Grand Canal culture characteristics and made new breakthroughs and progress in many aspects."

Since 2020, Beijing has carried out 669 archaeological excavations in seven districts along the Grand Canal, covering a total area of 321,000 square meters.

Among them, the most important project was the discovery of ruins in Luxian county built in the Western and Eastern Han dynasties (206 BC-AD 220) during construction works in the capital's Tongzhou district. The site was selected as one of the "top 10 new archaeological discoveries in China" in 2016.

Also located in Tongzhou, the Beijing Grand Canal Museum is to open to the public at the end of this year, with about 6,000 cultural relics on exhibit.

The museum is expected to become a new landmark to showcase the relationship between the waterway and Beijing's urban development.