Eight cities were selected in 40 years, and they have been listed as national historical and cultural cities in Jiangsu section of the Grand Canal.
The ancient city is a mirror to show history and a window to review the glorious past.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the State Council’s announcement of the first batch of national historical and cultural cities. Since the list was published on February 8, 1982, the number of national historical and cultural cities has expanded from 24 at the beginning to 140.
Many of these famous historical and cultural cities are born and prospered with the Grand Canal in China. In Jiangsu alone, there are eight national historical and cultural cities located on the banks of the Canal, ranking first in the country.
Let’s have a look!
Suzhou
Small bridges and flowing water, pink bricks and tiles, beautiful mountains and rivers and elegant gardens. Suzhou, an ancient city with a long history, still maintains a double chessboard pattern of "land and water are parallel and rivers and streets are adjacent" and is one of the first national historical and cultural cities.
Shantang Street
Accumulate gold and jade, gentle and rich country. In the history of Suzhou, the traffic was busy, and hundreds of people were fighting for the flow. The wealthy businessman dajia and the literati gathered here. Gardening flourished and culture flourished, and Kunqu Opera and Su Ju were born here.
There are countless scenic spots on the odd river. Xushuguan town, "Jiangnan is going to rush to the ground, Wuzhong Living Wharf"; Shantang Street, "the most prosperous and romantic place in the world of mortals"; Fengqiao Scenic Area is famous all over the world because of the phrase "Hanshan Temple outside Gusu City, the bell rings at midnight to the passenger ship"; Gu Xiang in Pingjiang has been well preserved so far, which can be called the epitome of Suzhou ancient city … …
Fengqiao scenic spot
Yangzhou
Yangzhou, located at the intersection of the Yangtze River and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, has the reputation of "a famous place in the left of Huai River and a beautiful place in the west of Zhu River". The history of building a city can be traced back to 486 BC, and it has been more than 2,500 years since Fu Cha, the king of Wu, opened the ditch and built the city of Han. It is one of the first national historical and cultural cities.
Yangzhou city ruins
Yangzhou ancient canal
Nowadays, Yangzhou, on the side of the Grand Canal, maintains a relatively complete ancient city pattern and street texture. By the canal, scenic spots such as Slender West Lake and Geyuan attract a large number of tourists every year, and the canal water has also spawned a wonderful collection of Yangzhou culture, including Yangzhou Quyi, woodblock printing and Huaiyang cuisine … …
Geyuan
Geyuan
Huaian
“襟吴带楚客多游，壮丽东南第一州”。周恩来总理的故乡—淮安，自古人杰地灵，风景秀美，是第二批国家历史文化名城之一。
通江达淮，水上要道。自古淮安就被大运河赋予了生命，是中国南北漕运的咽喉之地。多年来，淮安见证了淮河下游地区人类繁衍、地理变迁，也见证了古代中国独有的漕运文化。
清宴园
这里有水利工程的集大成者清口枢纽，有万顷碧波的洪泽湖，有历经600多年风霜依旧保存完好的古闸—清江大闸，有“江淮第一园”清晏园……如今的淮安，阅尽繁华，用沉淀千年的底蕴，带给沿岸百姓美好生活。
洪泽湖大堤
清口枢纽景区一角
徐州
彭祖故里、刘邦故里……作为“帝王之乡”，徐州的两汉文化、军事文化久负盛名。在这里，京杭大运河傍城而过，黄河古道横贯市区。1986年12月8日，徐州被国务院公布为第二批国家历史文化名城。
在徐州，众多名胜古迹都坐落于运河之畔。在京杭大运河及骆马湖的交汇处，1400多年历史的窑湾古镇古色古香。“两汉风范徐州城，千年文脉户部山”，户部巷如今保存完好的明清房屋和院落，是古城徐州繁华的见证。
kiln bay town
Yaowan ancient town scenic spot
Night view of Hubu Mountain
Zhenjiang
Zhenjiang was selected as the second batch of national historical and cultural cities. This is the only junction between the Yangtze River and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Relying on the risks of the Yangtze River and the benefits of the Grand Canal, Zhenjiang has produced water transport culture, ferry culture and military culture that affect the whole country.
Xijindu, Xinhe Street and Jingkou Gate … … In Zhenjiang, the scenery of the ancient canal is changing with each passing day. Looking at the present, the green and livable canal business card has become a distinctive symbol of Zhenjiang.
Xijindu — Xinhe street hexin exhibition park
Wuxi
Known as Cloth Wharf, Money Wharf, Silk Capital and Rice Market, Wuxi has been a land of plenty since ancient times. This is the birthplace of ancient Wu culture, modern national industry and commerce and modern township enterprises. In 2007, Wuxi was added as a national historical and cultural city.
Qingming bridge
To understand the history of Wuxi, we can’t bypass the Grand Canal which flows around the city. Nanchang Street is centered along the ancient canal, with all kinds of ancient buildings, all kinds of delicious food and handicrafts, which perfectly presents the alley-style old street in the south of the Yangtze River.
Qingming bridge
Take a boat and drive slowly under the Qingming Bridge, like painting a landscape and feeling the folk customs of a hundred years ago. In Huishan ancient town, listening to a song "Two Springs Reflecting the Moon" and tasting the leisure morning tea of the Canal is very pleasant.
Huishan old town
Changzhou
"The country with three Wu Jin belts is a meeting of hundreds of boats and cars." Changzhou, Longcheng, is an important birthplace of Wu culture and Qi-Liang culture. It is known as "the name of China and Wu, and the name of eight cities". In 2015, Changzhou was added as a national historical and cultural city.
According to historical records, Changzhou has become an important post station for water transportation since Sui Dynasty. After three times of southward migration, it has formed the "three rivers and four cities" style of "building a city by the river, the river moving with the city and the river matching the city".
Changzhou section of Grand Canal
During the Millennium, the boats that traveled from south to north gave birth to Changzhou’s magnificent canal culture. Qingguo Lane, Tianning Temple, Dongpo Park … … A grand canal, smart Changzhou, also accumulated Changzhou.
Qingguo lane
Gaoyou
Gaoyou is a county-level city managed by Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province, and its strength cannot be underestimated. It is a world heritage city, a national historical and cultural city, a national civilized city and a national tourism demonstration area. It is also the hometown of China folk songs, China Qixi culture, Chinese poetry, national philately and China architecture. In 2016, Gaoyou was added as a national historical and cultural city.
Jiangsu Li Canal-Gaoyou Irrigation District
Gaoyou’s ancient canal passes through the city, with tributaries all over the city, and many beaches are distributed, which is a veritable city that thrives on water.
Gaoyou mengchengyi
gaoyou lake
(Text | Modern Express+Reporter Wang Ziyang Amy Emilie Figure | Some pictures are from Xinhua News Agency, Jiangsu Provincial Water Resources Department, Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Tourism Department, Gaoyou Water Resources Bureau, etc.)