The oldest and longest manmade canal in the world, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, is 1,794 kilometers long, with a history of over 2,500 years. The canal's northern end is Beijing and its southern end is Hangzhou, running through the Tianjin Municipality and the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

The vast waterway system, linking China's five great rivers, including the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, has played an important role in transportation and boosting the economy along its banks.