Since China joined the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1985, 57 heritage sites have been included in the World Heritage List, including 39 cultural heritage sites, 14 natural heritage sites and 4 natural and cultural dual heritage sites. China has a huge number of cultural heritage sites with diverse types and rich connotations. Beijing is the city with the largest number of World Cultural Heritage Sites in the World, with a total of seven sites. When visiting Beijing you must not miss them!

The Grant Canal was involved in the World Cultural Heritage List in 2014. The canal is majestic and never stops its steps. The Grand Canal is a vivid world cultural heritage that resonates with Chinese civilization. Let's set our foot on a journey of world cultural heritage in Beijing and taste the beauty of the thousand-year-old canal

The Grand Canal

Located in the middle-eastern part of China, the Grand Canal is the world's earliest, longest-used, and largest artificial canal. The Grand Canal was built in 486 BC. It consists of three major parts and ten sections of waterways, including the Grand Canal of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and the Zhejiang East Canal, involving 27 cities in 8 provinces and cities along the route. Although more than 2000 years of continuous development and evolution, it still plays an important role in transportation and water conservancy today. The Grand Canal has a huge and everlasting impact on the history of China and the whole World.

The waterways, which listed in the heritage list of Beijing, include the old city section of Tonghui River in Xicheng District, Shichahai (including Qianhai, Houhai, and Xihai), the old city section of Tonghui River in Dongcheng District - Yuhe Ancient Channel (from Wanning Bridge in the west to Dongbuya Bridge in the east, about 0.5 kilometers long) and the Tongzhou section of Tonghui River in Tongzhou District (from Yongtong Bridge in the west to Tongzhou Beiguan Gate in the east, approximately 5 kilometers long).

The heritage sites include Chengqing Upper Gate (Wanning Bridge) in Xicheng District and Chengqing Middle Gate (Dongbuya Bridge) in Dongcheng District, which are important open urban landscapes in Beijing.

The ancient river has been flowing for thousands of years, and the "vivid" cultural heritage is a prominent feature of the Grand Canal cultural heritage. The Beijing section of the Grand Canal is 82 kilometers long.  In terms of presentation, the Grand Canal Cultural Belt is based on the two banks of the Grand Canal in Beijing, connecting the canal-related hydraulic facilities, canal transport relics storage buildings, water source lakes, towns and villages along the line, and crossing through the city, spanning seven districts in Beijing including Changping, Haidian, Xicheng, Dongcheng, Chaoyang, Shunyi, and Tongzhou. The cultural relics along the line are of high grade, densely distributed, with a long span of time and variety types, presenting a unique form of stringing the canal into a line.

Today, the construction of the Beijing Grand Canal Cultural Belt is accelerating. From north to south, the Baifuquan Relic, Wanshou Temple, Guo Shoujing Memorial Hall, Wanning Bridge, Tonghui River Yuhe Site, Randeng Lighthouse, Daguang Tower and Grand Canal Forest Park and so on. The pearls are brand new one by one. Walking in the Beijing section of the Grand Canal, the history and the protection status of the canal are presented when we through the ancient remains.

Evaluation by the World Heritage Committee

The Grand Canal is the longest and oldest artificial waterway in the World, and also the largest and most extensive civil engineering project before the Industrial Revolution. It promoted the exchange of materials between the north and south of China and the unified jurisdiction of the territory, reflecting the superb wisdom, determination and courage of the Chinese people, as well as the outstanding achievements of Eastern civilization in water conservancy technology and management capabilities. Although more than 2000 years of continuous development and evolution, the Grand Canal still plays an important role in transportation, transfer, flood control, irrigation, and water transfer. It is an indispensable and important mode of transportation in the areas along the Grand Canal. It has played an important role in ensuring China's economic prosperity and social stability since ancient times.

Guide to Traveling in the Grand Canal Cultural Belt in Beijing

Bai Fuquan Site

The Grand Canal Bai Fuquan Site is located at the eastern foot of Donglong Mountain in Huazhuang Village, Changping District, also known as Shenshan Quan. Bai Fuquan is the northernmost water source of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in the Yuan Dynasty. It was discovered and used by Yuan Dynasty scientist Guo Shoujing, who diverted Bai Fuquan water as the upstream water source of the northern end of the Grand Canal.

In the 29th year of the Yuan Dynasty (1292), Bai Fu Yan was built. In 1293 AD, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was fully connected, becoming an important transportation in communicating between the north and the south, solving the problem of the "last mile" of water transport in the capital of the Yuan Dynasty (now Beijing).

Baifu Quan is the source of the Baifu Wengshan River water diversion project and is an important physical material for studying the history of Beijing's water conservancy development. Mr. Hou Renzhi, a historical geographer, believes that "the most closely related to Beijing in history is Baifu Quan".

Grand Canal Source Heritage Park

As an important node of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt, the Grand Canal Source Site Park is based on the historical and cultural heritage of Baifu Quan as the keynote, connects the landscape nodes such as Changliu Huize, Longquan Shuyu, and Shanshui Qingyin, and integrates with the Changping New City Riverside Forest Park to become a spatial layout of mountains and waters reflects, creating the Baifu Wengshan River Cultural Landscape Belt. While meeting the viewing needs of tourists, it can be better inheriting and protecting the original of the history and cultural resources of the Grand Canal.

The "History and Cultural Exhibition of the Grand Canal Source Site" is divided into three main exhibition halls, which including the Searching for Water Sources in the Initial Rise of Dadu", "Longquan Northward Guide to Canal Transport", and "Tonghui Boats and Ships Strengthen the Imperial Capital". It deeply restores scenes Guo Shoujing's "Bai Fu Water Diversion" project. Through interactive screens and other technological means, with the source of the river, the source of the capital, and the source of the city as the cultural axis. It shows the historical changes and cultural bearing of Bai Fuquan, the source of the canal, and fully tells the story of the "source of the canal".

Wanshou Temple

Wanshou Temple is located in the south of Suzhou Street and the north of Zizhu Bridge, seven miles northwest of Xizhimen, that is, on the west side of Guangyuan Gate on the Changhe River in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. This is a quiet and solemn royal temple, which was once an important place for royal birthday celebrations in the Qing Dynasty. After several large-scale reconstructions in the Wanli, Kangxi, Qianlong, and Guangxu dynasties, it has became an architectural pattern integrating temples, palaces, and gardens, and is known as the "Little Forbidden City in Western Beijing".

Wanshou Temple is the highest-level and best-preserved royal temple on both sides of the Changhe River. The buildings in the courtyard are divided into three roads: the middle, east and west. The main buildings of the temple are concentrated in the middle road, with a total of seven courtyards; the west road is the Qing royal palace; the east road is the living area for monks.

Guo Shoujing Memorial Hall

The Beijing Guo Shoujing Memorial Hall is located in the Huitong Temple on the north bank of Jishuitan. Huitong Temple was first built during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, a water gate was set up west of Deshengmen, and earth was piled up here to form an island. Water entered Jishuitan from both sides, and the Zhenshui Guanyin Temple was built on the island. In the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong issued an edict to dredge the river, rebuilt the Zhenshui Guanyin Temple, and named as the Huitong Temple. The memorial hall was completed and opened to the public in 1988. It is one of the first free museums in Beijing.

The basic exhibition of the memorial hall is based on the theme of "World Celebrity Guo Shoujing·World Heritage Grand Canal". Through four theme exhibition halls, it systematically introduces Guo Shoujing's life achievements and the contribution of the Beijing City History Development.

Wanning Bridge

Wanning Bridge, a single-hole stone arch, was built in the 22nd year of the Yuan Dynasty (1285). It is located in the middle of Di'an Men Wai Street today, spanning the Yuhe River on the east bank of the Shichahai Qianhai, and adjacent to the Shichahai Qianhai to the west. It is the original of the Grand Canal shipping in the Yuan Dynasty.

There was originally a sluice under the bridge, which was used to clear the water, and the remains still have. There is also a "Grand Canal of China" World Cultural Heritage sign next to the bridge. As an important node of the Beijing Central Axis and the Grand Canal World Cultural Heritage, Wanning Bridge is a very precious historical and cultural landmark of the ancient capital Beijing.

Tonghui River Yuhe River Site

Yuhe River is the inner-city section of Tonghui River in the Beijing section of the Grand Canal. It was built in the 29th year of the Yuan Dynasty (1292) and completed by Guo Shoujing in the 30th year of the Yuan Dynasty (1293). It was dug for water transport in the Yuan Dynasty and became a scenic river in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Because the water of this river originates from Yuquan Mountain, it is called Yuhe River and is an important part of the water system of the Beijing Imperial City.

The ancient Yuhe River site starts from the east bank of Shichahai, passes through the Wanning Bridge Chengqing Upper Gate to the East Buya Bridge Chengqing Middle Gate, goes south to Dongbanqiao, and turns east to the Chengqing Lower Gate of Beiheyan Street. Tonghui River Yuhe River is an important part of the Beijing section of the Grand Canal and the only ancient river site in the central urban area of ​​Beijing today. It was once the last section of the Grand Canal's thousand-mile water transport and meandered through the alleys. It is also known as the "Canal in the Alleys".

The Randeng Tower

The Randeng Tower is located in the northern part of Tongzhou District, Beijing's sub-city center, and is a national key cultural relic protection site. The Randeng Tower and the three temples to its southeast together constitute the ancient building complex of "three temples and one tower", which is an important carrier of the Beijing Grand Canal Cultural Belt.

The Randeng Tower of Buddha Relics in Tongzhou has stood beside the northern original point of the canal for more than 1,400 years. And now, it still shows the history of Tongzhou with its iconic influence, together with the ancient city of Tongzhou, the Three Religions Temple, the canal wharf and other historical sites.

Daguang Tower

"The towering railings and the outstanding pavilions are towering, and the water flows in front and behind them." This is a line from the poem "Famous Dam Daguang Tower" by Chen Yupeng, a poet of the Qing Dynasty. It vividly describes the majestic magnificence of Tongzhou Daguang Tower, as well as the confluence of rivers and the vast water surface. There are many pavilions on the banks of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, but Daguang Tower is also known as the "No. 1 Tower on the Grand Canal" because it is adjacent to the capital.

Daguang Tower is located on the west bank of the Beiguan flood diversion hub of the North Canal. It has double eaves and corners, carved beams and painted buildings. It is also known as the "No. 1 View of Luhe River". It is the northernmost end of the 3,400-mile Grand Canal, both the end and the original point. It was first built in the seventh year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1528) and rebuilt in the eleventh year of Tongzhi (1872). Three platforms were added to the north and south.

Tongzhou Grand Canal Forest Park

Tongzhou Grand Canal Forest Park is located in the Tongzhou New Town section of the North Canal in Tongzhou District. It is a national 4A-level scenic spot and an important part of the world cultural heritage China Grand Canal. The total length of the planned line is 4,600 meters, 600-800 meters wide, with a total area of ​​3.68 million square meters, of which the water surface accounts for 920,000 square meters and the greening rate reaches 95%.

Under the design concept of "green as the body, water as the soul, and forest and water interdependent", Tongzhou Grand Canal Forest Park has formed an overall layout of one river, two banks, six gardens, and eighteen scenes. It is Tongzhou's unique canal ecological natural oxygen bar and the only one in Beijing.