Discovery:Bridges over the Grand Canal

Discovery:Bridges over the Grand Canal

The abundant ancient bridges that cross over the Grand Canal were at one time considered the backbone of China. As time passed by, standing strong like royal guards, they have witnessed history and become “living”museums documenting the numerous changes and blending of cultures that has occurred alongside these waterways.

Huai'an Water Resources Project

Huai'an, the junction of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, the main irrigation canal in North-Jiangsu province and the Huaihe River Channel Project, shows its importance alongside the Grand Canal. That's the reason why Huai'an Water Resource Project was initiated. With compound functions of flood discharge, irrigation, power generation and shipping, this project is now a key water control project on the Huaihe River. Besides this, its splendid and extraordinary complexity has made it a huge museum dedicated to water conservation.

淮安水利樞紐——亞洲最大“水路立交”

京杭運河與蘇北灌溉總渠及淮河入海水道交匯處的水利樞紐管理處就位于淮安南郊淮安區。據介紹，具有泄洪、排澇、灌溉、南水北調、發電、航運等綜合功能的淮安水利樞紐，是新中國治淮的骨干樞紐工程。管理處區內兩平方公里的土地上，建有國內唯一的燈泡貫流式抽水發電機組、亞洲最大的上槽下洞式運河水上立交等20多座水工建筑，猶如一座水利工程博物館。

Gongchen Bridge

Gongchen Bridge is 92m in length and 16m tall. It is the highest and longest stone arch bridge among the ancient bridges in Hangzhou. It was originally built in the Chongzhen period (1631) of the Ming Dynasty. Despite its age, the Gongchen Bridge still remains majestic and stands firm across Grand Canal.“Gong” literally means greeting, and “chen” means the emperor's palace. The majestic arched stone bridge was meant to welcome and show respect for visiting royalty and was a place to greet the emperor in ancient times.

拱宸橋

從坐落于杭州拱墅區運河畔的中國京杭大運河博物館里出來，走過熱鬧的運河廣場，就會看到大運河杭州段的標志遺存拱宸橋。橋長92米，高16米，是杭州最高最長的古石拱橋，始建于明崇禎（公元1631年）年間。在古代，“宸”是指帝王住的地方，“拱”即拱手，兩手相合表示敬意。每當帝王南巡，這座高高的三孔石拱橋，象征對帝王的相迎和敬意。