BEIJING -- The ancient Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has been advised to be
protected in the same way as the Great Wall, Wu Jianmin, spokesman for the full
session of China's top advisory body, said Friday at a press conference.
A 40-member panel of political advisors and experts, who inspected the entire
canal last May, have called for urgent and extensive protection of canal, said
Wu, spokesman for the Fifth Session of the Tenth National Committee of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
The panel conducted the inspection after 58 political advisors, or CPPCC
members, jointly proposed measures last March to start protecting the canal
immediately and apply for its world heritage status in five years.
The proposal has won attention from the State Council and provinces and
cities along the canal.
The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, Silk Road and the relic sites of ancient
breweries have been included into a new list awaiting application for the World
Heritage.
The Tenth CPPCC National Committee has arranged a collective interview on the
Grand Canal during its fifth annual session, which will be held from March 3 to
15.
Linking Hangzhou and Beijing, the 1,794-km canal is the longest artificial
waterway in the world. Parts of the canal began to be dug in the fifth century
B.C. and the full canal had been serving as a major south-north artery of
transport after being completed in the 13th century.
The canal still has 1,000-km navigable waterway, with each of four major
ports handling more than 30 million tons of freight annually. The rest parts of
the canal have dried out, stagnated or been built over.
In comparison, the Great Wall has been put under state key protection in
China. It was put on the list of the World Heritage sites of the UNESCO (United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1987.
Following the Law on Protection of Cultural Relics, the central and local
governments have enacted a series of laws and regulations on protecting the
Great Wall and cracking down on illegal activities in areas along the wall.
