Why did emperors attach importance to digging the Grand Canal?

The world-famous Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is the greatest water conservancy project in ancient China and the earliest and longest artificial river course in the world.

The ancient Grand Canal flows through six provinces and cities, including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and connects five major water systems, namely Haihe River, Yellow River, Huaihe River, Yangtze River and Qiantang River. It has become the main artery of north-south traffic in China, played an important role in consolidating national unity, multi-ethnic integration and unity, and promoting economic and cultural exchanges between the north and the south, and has made great contributions to the political, economic, scientific, technological and cultural development of China for more than 2,000 years.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, with a total length of 1782 km, was dug in the Spring and Autumn Period and has a history of more than 2,400 years. According to documents, in 486 BC (thirty-fourth week), Fu Cha, the king of Wu, dug a north-south waterway from Jiangdu (now Yangzhou) to Wankou (now Huai 'an) in order to compete for hegemony in the Central Plains and develop the economy. Since then, the industrious people of China have rebuilt and excavated the Grand Canal from generation to generation. The Sui and Yuan Dynasties in the history of China made great contributions to the connection of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. In 605 AD, Yang Di ordered the Grand Canal to be dug, and thousands of laborers finally dredged it after six years under the orders of the emperor. No matter whether Emperor Yang Di dug canals for his own selfish desires or other purposes, canals played an inestimable role in the economic development of ancient China. Later, in the Yuan Dynasty, during the thirty years from Yuan Shizu to the Yuan Dynasty (A.D. 1293), the competent authorities of the Yuan Dynasty carried out a large-scale expansion of the canal, forming the pattern of today's Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

The characters related to this ancient canal passed away one by one, becoming the unchanging handwriting in history textbooks and being remembered by future generations. But the ancient canal has not died out. It is still inheriting history and creating the future. Today, the great Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is one of the main passages of China's "South-to-North Water Transfer Project". The scenery on both sides of the canal has also become an inscription to recall history in the eyes of good people in ancient and modern times. Simple folk customs, numerous places of interest and profound history and culture make the Grand Canal a distinctive cultural tourism belt.