Walking through the Millennium Grand Canal, exploring the culture of canal transportation

China is the earliest country in the world to excavate canals. The Grand Canal of China is the longest artificial waterway in the world, connecting the north and south and benefiting thousands of generations. The Assyrians began digging canals in the 7th century BC. The Persians connected the Nile and the Red Sea in the 5th century BC. The Grand Canal connected the political center and the economic center of the country, realizing the large-scale allocation of resources and products from the north and south. It played an irreplaceable role in maintaining national unity, political stability, promoting economic prosperity, cultural exchange, and technological development. When Su Shi was the governor of Yangzhou, he criticized the drawbacks of inspecting canal boats and limited each boat to carry one part of private goods. By the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the limit was increased to two parts, and the profits from empty boats carrying salt were used to subsidize canal transportation. In the Yuan Dynasty, maritime grain transportation was implemented, facilitating the transportation of grain from the south to the north. When the canal boats returned, they carried beans, grains, and local products (such as pears and dates) from the north to the south, promoting the exchange of materials between the north and south to a certain extent. With the prosperity of canal transportation and commerce, major guild halls were established along the Grand Canal as places for merchants to stay, store goods, trade, entertain, discuss affairs, and hold banquets. They also played a significant role in handling public welfare undertakings for fellow townsmen. The Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall in Liaocheng, built in the eighth year of the Qianlong reign in the Qing Dynasty, is known as the first guild hall in the world, commonly referred to as the "Guan Di Temple." Merchants from Shanxi and Shaanxi built it together for 66 years to "worship the gods and unite their hometowns."