Protection of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, which stretches
1,794 km from north to south, should begin immediately, said
Chinese political advisors.
"Along with the protection, we should strive to make the canal
listed as a world heritage," said a proposal signed by 58 members
of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
The proposal, submitted to the ongoing
annual session of the CPPCC National Committee, compares the
significance of the Grand Canal to that of the Great
Wall.
"There are two gigantic projects in China's ancient construction
history: the Great Wall and the Grand Canal, which is the longest
man-made canal in the world," said the proposal.
The canal began to be built more than 2,000 years ago and became
a major north-south artery of traffic about 1,400 years ago,
linking five natural rivers.
Liu Feng, a political advisory who first put forward the
proposal, said that with drastic political, economic, cultural and
social progress in China, the canal is a best witness to China's
long history and civilization.
"As the canal's traditional role is being replaced by modern
means of transportation, we need to start protection work
immediately to prevent relevant relics, ecological conditions and
natural scenes from disappearing quickly," said Liu.
As the canal passes through several administrative areas, the
central government should coordinate the formation of an overall
protection mechanism, he said.
"After protection work is done, we may apply for its world
heritage status in five years," said the proposal.
(Xinhua News Agency March 12, 2006)