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| The Grand Canal and Waterways in Beijing |
| | The North Terminal of The Grand Canal
The Grand Canal of China, the longest man-made waterway in the world, begins at Hangzhou in East China and terminates in Beijing,running for a total length of 1,794 kilometers. Digging started in the late Spring and Autumn period(about 5th century B.C.)and it was twice extended and widened, once during the Sui period and then in the Yuan Dynasty. As China's terrain slopes eastward-from the highlands and mountains in the west to the hinterlands on the shore of the Pacific,all the major rivers in China run west to east and empty into the Pacific. The Grand Canal was the sole waterway for south-north transportation and communication. During the Yuan Dynasty, the docks at Jishuitan in Beijing, then called the Greater Capital, were crowded by boats loaded with grain from the south. After the mid-19th century ,motor roads and railways gradually replaced the Grand Canal for transportation. However, it is safe to say that without the Grand Canal, there would have been no prosperity for Beijing in old days.
The Mesopotamia of Beijing
Beijing is formed by the alluvial plain between the Yongding River and the Chaobai River. The Yonging River runs down from the Taihang Mountains, carrying with it gravel and boulders, sometimes as big as beer barrels. Because of its heave silt and turbulent torrent during the high water season, the river used to change its course frequently, hence its former name, Wuding River , meaning "capricious river ." But people wished it to be permanently stable, so it is called the Yongding River (meaning "settled forever"in Chinese). The river has lived up to its auspicious name only in the past few decades, thanks to the dredging and reinforcement of the embankment undertaken by the People's Government. The Chaobai River drains the gullies of the Yanshan Mountains.It flows to the east of Beijing. In the past few decades, some large dams have been built on the river to form the Miyan Reservoir and the Huairou Reservoir. They provide the water source for Beijing's waterworks.
"Seas" Are
Pervasive in Beijing Quite a few names of places in Beijing end with the word hai (meaning "sea")such as Nanhai, Zhonghai, Beihai,Houhai and Xihai, all of which are beautiful parks. Of course the hais are not real seas, but lakes. The name hai dates from the time when the Mongols under Kublai Khan first entered Beijing. They were so delighted to see so many lakes in Beijing and called them haizi, meaning park in Mongolian. Later Haizi was simplified to hai and people wrote the Chinese character for hai.
How Wangfujing Derives Its Name
One of the busiest shopping districts in Beijing today is Wangfujing, which means the Well of the Prince's Mansion. Was there really a well? As a matter of fact, there were two wells in two back lanes near Wangfujing Street. Wangfujing owes its name to the fine quality of the water from those two wells. In the old time, Beijing residents relied on water drawn form wells in lanes. Unfortunately most of the wells produced salty or bitter water. Fine quality well water was sold at a good price. The imperial family only drank water from the springs in the Western Hills.
The Jade Spring in the Western Hills
Although most of the wells in Beijing produced bitter water,superbsweet water gushes out of the spring in the Western Hills. Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty was the one Chinese emperor who traveled extensively throughout his land. After comparing the spring water in the Western-Hills with the water of other springs in various parts of the country, he concluded that the Jade Spring water was the best and conferred on it the title"Spring of the First Order under Heaven". In those days, the water of the Jade Spring was the monopoly of the imperial family. Jade Spring Hill, or Yuquanshan, has become one of the eight favorite scenic spots in Beijing, for its water and its beautiful landscape.
source:ok-trip.com
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