The Chinese love everything large and huge, and the Great Chinese Channel is a vivid confirmation of this, along with the world-famous Great Wall of China. Of course, the channel is not so widely known, and it is not told about in schools, but, nevertheless, this structure is amazing, especially if you remember how long and with what technologies it was built.
The construction of the Great Chinese Canal began in the 6th century BC, and it dragged on for two thousand years.
The channel is actively used to this day, playing an important role in China’s economy.
At the narrowest point the width of the Grand Canal is about 40 meters, and in the widest – about 350 meters.
The depth of the channel does not exceed 2-3 meters.
The length of the canal without taking into account the branches is almost one thousand eight hundred kilometers! 1782 kilometers, to be precise, and with several branches in mind, it is almost 2500 kilometers.
The Great Channel of China is blocked by numerous locks – currently there are twenty-one.
Historians argue that it was thanks to the Great Channel that China’s economy in ancient times became so strong, contributing to the development of the Chinese empire. Nothing surprising, because the trade route built on the water is very convenient.
The Great Canal is declared by UNESCO a world cultural heritage. This is one of the oldest hydraulic engineering structures in the world, functioning to this day.
Once an American astronaut, who was aboard the Skylab orbital station, saw below the Great Canal on Earth, but mistakenly mistook him for the Great Wall.
Annually, the Great Chinese Channel passes up to 10 million tons of cargo.
