Collective responsibility

Currently, the ancient cluster is a crowd magnet, as residents click pictures from a distance during their walks along the Grand Canal.

"The Grand Canal doesn't just represent the flow of time, but also the extension of space. It is an artery that has nourished people, and a cultural vein filled with history," says He Yun'ao, director of the cultural museum and archaeology branch of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt Construction Research Institute in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

In 2017, President Xi Jinping emphasized that protecting the Grand Canal was a collective responsibility. Inspecting ecological environment management along the canal, he asked all stakeholders to tap into the historical and cultural resources of the engineering marvel as a template for future projects.

Beijing seems to have responded with gusto to the president's rallying call, pledging further efforts to protect and restore historical river systems and cultural heritage during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, according to a news conference on the city's management and development in April.

The goal of the local authorities is to comprehensively integrate the cultural and tourism resources along the canal, and to develop diverse experiences, says Wei Yunyun, deputy director of the Tongzhou forestry and parks bureau.