(CFP Photo)

The Industrial Tourism and Grand Canal Industrial Heritage Summit was held in Changzhou on April 18.

The Grand Canal is a vast waterway system in China and has nurtured splendid culture and ways of life, including a rich heritage of industries in Changzhou. In recent years, the city has incorporated the industrial heritage protection into its urban regeneration and development of modern manufacturing industry, turning historical venues into new landmarks. These efforts have led to the booming development of industrial tourism.

(Photo provided to Xinhua Daily)

With the theme of "understanding China's industrial development over a century along the canal," experts and scholars from all over the country and representatives of canal cities gathered in Changzhou to exchange views and jointly promote the protection, inheritance and utilization of industrial heritage.

The summit also included a photography exhibition and the release of the China Grand Canal Industrial Heritage Album. Additionally, a 270-meter long scroll "Grand Canal Panorama" was on display at the Changzhou Art Museum, which took painter Gao Ming seven years to create.