The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal: National Heritage and Ecological Corridor

Synopsis: The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal: National Heritage and Ecological Corridor, authored by Yu Kongjian, Li Dihua and their academic team, represents the research outcomes of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage's ‘Comprehensive Conservation Study of the Grand Canal’. In 2012, it was included in the National Library of Outstanding Achievements in Philosophy and Social Sciences. Breaking from conventional conservation models and transcending the limitations of treating the canal as an isolated cultural relic, the book introduces the concept of a ‘National Heritage and Ecological Corridor,’ defining it as a multifunctional composite system. It also systematically proposes for the first time four core value systems: cultural heritage, production security, ecological infrastructure, and recreation/education.

Grounded in empirical research from a 2004 cycling expedition by thirty scholars from Peking University, the work documents over a hundred river cross-sections through field measurements, compiling multifaceted records supplemented by diverse materials to establish a physical baseline archive of the canal. Simultaneously, the research revealed crises confronting the canal, including fragmented cross-provincial management lacking coordination mechanisms, urban encroachment through industrial and agricultural land occupation, blind development of pseudo-antique structures undermining authenticity, and direct discharge of urban sewage resulting in sub-Class V water quality in certain sections.

The authors established a protective framework for the Grand Canal, implementing tiered spatial guidelines for differentiated management across distinct zones. Technical pathways, including the concept of counter-planning, were proposed. Furthermore, the strategic significance of the canal was emphasised by integrating it into the national ecological security framework, preserving historical memory through the protection of its ‘water transport cultural landscape’. This work transcends conventional heritage conservation approaches, offering a Chinese solution for linear cultural heritage protection through its dual-core model, while its warnings carry pressing contemporary relevance.