Nanwang water division system ( or ) is a historical system for management of the water in the Grand Canal in the Shandong province in China. Nanwang water division system is built in the area around Nanwang in

Wenshang County Wenshang County () is a county of southwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of Jining Jining () is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong province. It borders Heze to the southwest, ...

Jining Jining () is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong province. It borders Heze to the southwest, Zaozhuang to the southeast, Tai'an to the northeast, and the provinces of Henan and Jiangsu to the northwest and south respectively. Jinin ...

city that was the highest point of the historical canal Emperor Yongle (r. 1402–1424) moved the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

capital from

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

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 ...

which increased the need for traffic along the Grand Canal. The passage through

Shandong Peninsula The Shandong (Shantung) Peninsula or Jiaodong (Chiaotung) Peninsula is a peninsula in Shandong Province in eastern China, between the Bohai Sea to the north and the Yellow Sea to the south. The latter name refers to the east and Jiaozhou. Geo ...

(Huitong Canal) was only to be crossed with great difficulties because the water level was often not high enough and sluices were necessary and passage through sluices. Therefore at the year 1411 the emperor ordered

Song Li Li Song or Song Li is the name of: ;People surnamed Li * Emperor Shunzong of Tang (761–806), emperor of the Tang dynasty * Li Song (politician) (died 948), politician of Later Tang, Later Jin, Liao and Later Han dynasties during the Five Dynastie ...

to renovate the problematic section. With help from the local expert Bai Ying a water diversion system which included dozens of sluice gates was built. When the system was completed it could adjust the water flow of the canal so the needed transports could be controlled. The Daicun Dam () diverted water via the "Lesser Wen River" to the

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

s at Nanwang. In the middle go the 15th century additional sluices was built north and south of Nanwang and levees was erected around the reservoirs. The complete project was carried out in several different phases during the period 1411 to 1505. Today the Nanwang water division system is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

and the excavations began in 2008 when 4,000 square meters were excavated.

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* {{coord missing, Shandong Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Shandong Canals in China Chinese architectural history

See also

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