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River rhyme millennium cultural context of the Central Plains
——"Why China, Carrying a Thousand Autumns" Network Theme Activity Henan Theme Day Anyang Grand Canal Chapter
If you take a bird's-eye view of China, you will find the word "people", one of which is the Great Wall, and the other is the Grand Canal.
As an important node of the Yongji Canal of the Grand Canal of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Huaxian section of the Grand Canal in Anyang, Henan Province retains the original ecological features of the ancient river channel, and there are various cultural sites along the line, such as cities, rivers, embankments, wharves, bridges, warehouses, hydraulic facilities, sacrificial buildings, etc., and develops a variety of folk cultures such as fire performances, Daping tunes, and temple fairs, and tells a moving story of the canal.
On June 22, 2014, three major sections of the river, including the Sui-Tang Grand Canal, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and the Zhedong Canal, were listed as World Cultural Heritage. In 2024, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Grand Canal's successful inscription on the World Heritage List, the Anyang Municipal Cyberspace Administration and the Municipal Financial Media Center will take you to explore the appearance of the Grand Canal in the Sui and Tang Dynasties and find the context of Chinese civilization.
Weihe Shipping - Daokou Section Shipping River View during the Republic of China Period (from the 1933 "Daoqing Railway Travel Guide")
The pearl of the canal
Why is Huaxian Road Crossing called "Little Tianjin"?
When it comes to Anyang Huaxian Daokou, you will definitely think of the delicious Daokou roast chicken. But you know what? The ancient town of Daokou, which is close to the Grand Canal, was an important town in northern Henan during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Merchants gather here, trade is prosperous, and it is called "Little Tianjin".
The Huaxian section of the Grand Canal is an important node of the Yongji Canal of the Grand Canal of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, which was called Baigou in ancient times. The canal flows through the ancient town of Daokou and winds through it from south to north. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao diverted Qi water into Baigou and opened the regional Baigou Canal; In 608 A.D., Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty sent millions of people in Hebei counties to divert Qin water on the left bank of the Qin River, dig the Yongji Canal, reach the Yu River in the south, and pass Zhuo County in the north. The Yongji Canal, together with the Tongji Canal, the Hangou Canal and the Jiangnan River, constituted the Grand Canal that ran through the north and south of China at that time. During the Song and Yuan dynasties, the Yongji Canal was called the Royal River, because it flowed through the ancient Weiguo land in the Spring and Autumn Period, the Ming Dynasty changed its name to "Wei River" and has been used until now.
The ancient town of Daokou was born because of the canal, and a settlement of a certain scale has been formed in the Yuan Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Haiyan from Tianjin was transported to various parts of Henan through the Weihe River, and bricks and grains from Henan and other places were transported to Beijing through this. In the middle of the Qing Dynasty, Jin merchants began to use the canal to transport tea to Mongolia and Russia, and the Wei River also became an important part of the Wanli Tea Road, and the crossing was an important turnover point. During the Ming and Qing dynasties to the Republic of China, thousands of ships traveled between Xinxiang and Tianjin in Henan Province every day, communicating more than 30 cities and towns in Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Jin and other places. So far, the ancient town of Daokou, which is prosperous because of the river, has become an important town, and has also won the reputation of "Little Tianjin".
The River of Rhyme - Huaxian Section of the Grand Canal (Photo by Wang Guohong)
The Huaxian section of the Grand Canal was opened to navigation for about 1,800 years from the excavation of Baigou to the 70s of the 20th century, and was once an important waterway connecting the north and south on the North China Plain, playing an important role in political unification, economic exchanges and cultural exchanges. Today, this section of the canal has completed the mission entrusted to it by history, and the scenery of the canal with thousands of sails racing, river ports and continuous shops has become a memory. However, there are 8,240 meters of ancient river channels, 9 ancient wharves, more than 3,000 meters of ancient city walls, and more than 1,000 ancient buildings in historical districts...... It still tells of the prosperity of the past.
Nowadays, there is a canal forest park in the north of the Huaxian section of the Grand Canal, a golden and silver pile of West Lake in the south, a characteristic agricultural park in the west to demonstrate the elegance of the four seasons, and a prosperous market in the east.
Aerial view of the Huaxian section of the Grand Canal (photo by Zhang Zixiao)
(Source: Anyang Rong Media Client)