The Grand Canal is one of the greatest symbols of Chinese civilization creation, which has played a significant role in the sustained development of Chinese civilization and national unity over a history of more than 2400 years. In 486 BC, the State of Wu excavated the "Hangou" that connected the Yangtze River and the Huai River, marking the beginning of the Grand Canal. Subsequently, there were historical changes such as the excavation of the Sui Tang Grand Canal and the Yuan Ming Qing Jing Hang Grand Canal, ultimately forming today's giant man-made river heritage that involves 8 provinces and municipalities directly under the central government, with a total length of 3200 kilometers. From its evolutionary history, the Grand Canal has gone through several important stages, including ancient transportation channels, contemporary South to North Water Diversion (East Route) channels, national key cultural relics protection units, world cultural heritage sites (1011 kilometers in length), and national cultural parks. At present, it still has many functions such as transportation, water supply, water conservancy, ecology, culture, life, production, tourism and so on. It is an important participant in the construction of Chinese path to modernization. The natural rivers on Chinese land, such as the Yangtze River, Yellow River, Huai River, Haihe River, etc., all flow from west to east, forming isolated watershed systems. The emergence of the Grand Canal became the best way for ancient China to solve the problem of water transportation separation between the north and south, promote material circulation, and ensure national unity. Especially since the Sui and Tang dynasties, China's economic center has gradually shifted southward, while its political center is mostly in the north. The southern grain can only be continuously transported northward through the Grand Canal. For example, in the Northern Song Dynasty, more than 6 million stones (about 360000 tons) of grain were transported annually through the Grand Canal to the capital city of Tokyo (now Kaifeng), with a maximum of 8 million stones; During the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty (1426-1435), more than 6.7 million stones of grain were transported annually through the Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal to the capital city of Beijing. Starting from the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty (1467-1487), the total amount of grain transported was officially set at 4 million stones per year, and this system was largely used until the Qing Dynasty. In order to ensure the smooth flow of the canal, a large number of complex engineering problems need to be solved, such as dealing with the water level difference between different natural rivers, and the perennial water replenishment problem of the canal. As a result, a large number of innovative engineering wisdom and achievements have been generated, such as establishing dams, gates, and cascade ship locks; Establish water tanks, Australian gates, overflow dams, and water reduction gates; Create projects such as Nanwang Water Diversion Project and Huai'an Qingkou Hub Project. These achievements hold a unique position in the history of world shipping engineering. The long Grand Canal is the cradle for cultivating numerous cultural achievements. With the excavation and use of the canal, it connected the six ancient capitals of China, namely Luoyang, Xi'an, Kaifeng, Hangzhou, Beijing, and Nanjing, giving birth to a series of famous cities such as Yangzhou, Huai'an, Zhenjiang, Jining, and Linqing, bringing prosperity to Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Jiaxing, Shaoxing, Ningbo, Xuzhou, Suzhou, Cangzhou, Dezhou, Tianjin, and Tongzhou, thus creating the Grand Canal urban belt and cultural wealth belt. The Grand Canal connects Wu Yue culture, Central Plains culture, Qilu culture, and Yan Zhao culture, promoting the interaction and integration of different cultures. It also connects the Maritime Silk Road and the Land Silk Road, linking China with the world. Along the canal, there have been literary masterpieces such as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," "Water Margin," "Journey to the West," "Dream of the Red Chamber," "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio," "Journey of Lao Can," and "Three Words and Two Beats," as well as countless cultural achievements such as Yuan Opera, Kunqu Opera, Peking Opera, Huai Opera, Yue Opera, and the Yangming School. To this end, dozens of national and provincial historical and cultural cities and towns, tens of thousands of cultural relics protection units of different levels, and intangible cultural heritage are densely distributed along the Grand Canal, jointly showcasing the colorful, profound and vast culture of the Grand Canal. The ancient Grand Canal has regained its youthful vitality in the process of modernization in China. In 2002, the "Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal" was included in the East Route of the South to North Water Diversion Project. In 2006, it was announced by the State Council as a national key cultural relic protection unit; In 2013, the "Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal" was merged with the "Sui Tang Grand Canal" and the "Zhejiang East Grand Canal" and announced as a national key cultural relic protection unit, the "Grand Canal"; In 2014, the "China Grand Canal" was successfully included in the The World Heritage List; In 2017, the construction of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt was fully launched; In 2019, the central government decided to build the Grand Canal National Cultural Park. The heritage and ecological protection, cultural inheritance, and rational utilization of the Grand Canal continue to reach new heights. A number of museums reflecting the historical achievements of the Grand Canal have been built and opened one after another. Along the route, there are nearly a hundred 5A level scenic spots and over 1200 4A level scenic spots, which have become the core axis of China's cultural and tourism development. The Grand Canal is also a major corridor for the construction of material and ecological civilization that runs through the eastern and central parts of China. It connects the integrated region of the Yangtze River Delta with the Yangtze River Economic Belt, Huaihe River Ecological Economic Belt, Huaihai Economic Zone, Yellow River Basin Ecological Protection and High quality Development Belt, Beijing Tianjin Hebei Coordinated Development Zone, etc. It has the conditions to play a modern role in overall planning, linkage, integration, and sharing, in order to promote the realization of the construction goals of common prosperity for all people, coordination between material civilization and spiritual civilization, and harmonious coexistence between man and nature. For over 2400 years, the excavation, evolution, and operation of the Grand Canal have been a continuous development history of Chinese civilization, a history of Chinese water conservancy and transportation civilization, and a history of science and technology. Today, the protection, inheritance and promotion of the Grand Canal culture also convey to the world the feelings and responsibilities of the Chinese people in cherishing cultural heritage, pursuing harmonious development, building a beautiful homeland, and practicing the concept of peace. (New Society)