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.
(Xinhua News Agency March 3, 2007)
