The
Lingqu Canal is located 57 kilometers north of
Guilin in the county of Xing'an. It will be a pleasant tour if travellers choos
China Travel Agency as a company in the Guilin Lingqu Canal tours.
Constructed at the orders of the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang (214 BC) the Lingqu canal is the most complete existing ancient canal in the world.
Lingqu spans a total length of 37.4 kilometres including the canal mouth, the north canal and the south canal component. The canal was designed using the most advanced technology of the Qing dynasty and was a strategically important project which provided a transport hub for the emperor to move his armies quickly and secretly, playing an important role in the unification of China. It has a total length of 37.4 kilometers and took only 33 years to build, an amazing feat of engineering at that time. Together with the Dujiangyan Irrigation System in Sichuan and Zhengguo Canal in Shaanxi, it composes the famous "Three Water Conservancy Projects of Ancient China".
The Lingqu Canal connects the Xiang River and the Li River with the Yangtze and the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong. The Hua Dyke which is the main feature of the channel head is a dam in the form of Chinese character "人". The part leaning to the south canal is called the Xiaotianping, and the part leaning to the north canal is called the Datianping.
Despite it being built over two thousand years ago, the canal’s design is still studied by scientists and engineers seeking to understand its structure, which was highly advanced for its time.
Because of continued development, maintenance and improvement in every dynasty, the Lingqu Canal still plays extremely important water conservancy, flood mitigation and irrigation functions in the region of Xing’an.
Contemporary Chinese scholar Guo Morou commented that the Lingqu Canal: "echoes with the Great Wall in the north, it is truly one of the wonders of the world". The Lingqu canal displays amazing structural engineering and design and is also a source of picturesque scenery with both banks of the canal teeming with animal and bird life as well as being rich in vegetation. The Shuijie Pagoda, the numerous ancient bridges spanning the river and the bustling market town of Xing'an are all enjoyable highlights. The Lingqu canal is already well renown in Guilin and represents one of the pearls in the Guilin travelling experience.
