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The Lingqu () is a canal in Xing'an County, near
The Lingqu () is a canal in Xing'an County, near Guilin
Guilin (Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''; alternatively romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the nort ...
, in the northwestern corner of Guangxi, China. It connects the Xiang River
The Xiang River is the chief river of the Dongting Lake, Lake Dongting Drainage basin, drainage system of the middle Yangtze, the largest river in Hunan, Hunan Province, China. It is the 2nd largest tributary (after Min River (Sichuan), Min River ...
(which flows north into the Yangtze
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
) with the Li River
The Li River or Li Jiang () is the name for the upper reaches of the Gui River in northwestern Guangxi, China. It is part of the Xijiang River system in the Pearl River Basin. The river flows from Xing'an County to Pingle County, where the ...
(which flows south into the Gui River
The Gui River (Chinese: 桂江) is a river in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China, and a tributary of the Xi Jiang. It is formed in Pingle by the confluence of the Li River and Lipu River and flows southeast, merging with the Xun Jiang ...
and Xijiang
The Xi River (; ) or Si-Kiang is the western tributary of the Pearl River in southern China. It is formed by the confluence of the Gui and Xun Rivers in Wuzhou, Guangxi. It originates from the eastern foot of the Maxiong Mountain in Qujing C ...
), and thus is part of a historical waterway between the Yangtze and the Pearl River Delta. It was the first canal in the world to connect two river valleys and enabled boats to travel from Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
to Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
.
History
In 214 BC,Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of " king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Empero ...
, the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...
(221–206 BC), ordered the construction of a canal connecting the Xiang and the Li rivers, in order to attack the Baiyue
The Baiyue (, ), Hundred Yue, or simply Yue (; ), were various ethnic groups who inhabited the regions of East China, South China and Northern Vietnam during the 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium AD. They were known for their short hair, b ...
tribes in the south. The architect who designed the canal was Shi Lu (). It is the oldest contour canal in the world, receiving its water from the Xiang. Its length reaches 36.4 km and it was fitted with thirty-seven flash locks by 825 AD and there is a clear description of pound locks in the twelfth century, which were probably installed in the tenth or eleventh century.
Its design also served water conservation by diverting up to a third of the flow of the Xiang to the Li.
The canal has been placed on the UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Sites
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
tentative list.
See also
*History of canals in China
The history of canals in China connecting its major rivers and centers of agriculture and population extends from the legendary exploits of Yu the Great in his attempts control the flooding of the Yellow River to the present infrastructure project ...
* Grand Canal of China
The Grand Canal, known to the Chinese as the Jing–Hang Grand Canal (, or more commonly, as the「大运河」("Grand Canal")), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the longest canal or artificial river in the world. Starting in Beijing, it passes ...
* Dujiangyan
* Zhengguo Canal
References
Citations
Bibliography
*Day, Lance and McNeil, Ian . (1996). ''Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology''. New York: Routledge. . Canals in China Chinese inventions Geography of Guilin Xing'an County Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Guangxi Qin (state) Transport in Guangxi Qin dynasty architecture {{China-hist-stub