The construction of Chinese canals can be dated back as early as to the Pre-Qin Period. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty opened
the Tongji Canal. It, starting from the Sui capital, Luoyang, connected the Hangou Canal and was extended to Hangzhou across the Changjiang River and by way of the Jiangnan Canal. Since the Yuan Dynasty, when Dadu (now Beijing) was chosen as the capital, the Grand Canal became an important hinge between the North and South, which communicates the transportation from Beijing to Hangzhou. However, there had existed a canal in the Pre-Qin Period, which was known as the Eastern Zhejiang Canal, running from Hanghzou to Ningbo across the Qiantangjiang River and through Shaoxing. Therefore, the Grand Canal, also named
the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, actually ends in Ningbo via the Eastern Zhejiang Canal, and it should be called
the Beijing-Ningbo Grand Canal. Cultural resources along the North-South Grand Canal were abundant, but most of them were ruined. Substantial efforts need to be made to preserve them. To this, Shaoxin City is a good example in protecting canal culture and has scored great achievements.