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Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal refilled with water
CGTN
01:30

All dried-out sections of the ancient Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, a long waterway connecting the northern and southern parts of China, have been replenished.

From March 1 to April 4, about 191.21 million cubic meters of water have been directed to the canal's northern part, accounting for 41.1 percent of the planned water replenishment amount.

By the end of May this year, China's Ministry of Water Resources plans to divert even more water to the canal, the longest and oldest man-made waterway in the world, aiming to improve the ecological environment along the canal and preserve the Grand Canal culture.

With a history of more than 2,500 years, the Grand Canal, connecting Beijing and Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province, served as a significant transportation artery in ancient China. The canal was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in China in 2014.

Due to historical evolution, human activity and climate change, some sections of the canal began to dry up in the first half of the 20th century. Thanks to a water supply project, it was the second time that water flowed through the whole canal after roughly a century, following the first in 2022.

(Cover image via CFP)

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