World Canal Cities Forum 2022 opens in Yangzhou

2022-06-27 16:16:00

(CFP Photo)

The World Canal Cities Forum 2022 opened in Yangzhou City on June 27 under the theme of the protection and sustainable development of canal city’s heritage.

Representatives of canal cities in China and abroad and canal experts joined the event held online and on-site.

The Grand Canal, stretching 3,200 kilometers from Beijing to Hangzhou, has a history of more than 2,500 years. Connecting China’s Haihe River, Yellow River, Huaihe River, Yangtze River and Qiantang River, it’s the world's longest man-made waterway and served as an important waterway for transporting supplies and supporting economic development.

Among regions along the Grand Canal, Jiangsu has most sites that made the waterway a UNESCO heritage, such as top landmarks, enduring legacies and prosperous sections. Jiangsu has introduced the country's first regional law for the canal, taken the national lead in rolling out a cultural protection and heritage utilization planning, and also published The Gazetteer of the Canals of China, the first of its kind in the country.

In addition, Jiangsu is the first province to work out a planning for building the cultural park, launched China’s first cultural and tourism fund, issued the special bond for the construction of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt, and organized an expo on the canal’s culture and tourism.

In the past eight years, Jiangsu has taken a series of measures to preserve and develop the canal’s heritage. Efforts were made to establish an institute for the construction of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt, host the World Canal Cities Forum, build the China Grand Canal Museum, and launch a cloud platform of the cultural park initiative.

The canal is a major transport route, a cultural belt, and a platform for people-to-people exchange. In recent years, the forum has constantly expanded its impact in the world, the number of members in the World Historical and Cultural Canal Cities Cooperation Organization (WCCO) also increased from 13 at the inauguration to 170 today.