Bird view of Zaozhuang Section of the Grand Canal (Photo/China News Service)

From October 17 to 18, the group of media veterans from home and abroad went to Zaozhuang in Shandong Province and visited the Jiangbei Water Village, which is an important spot along the Grand Canal. 

The Zaozhuang section of the Grand Canal, known as "Jiahe", was dug in the Wanli Period of the Ming Dynasty, with a total length of 93.9 kilometers and a watershed area of 1,828 square kilometers. The Zaozhuang Section of the Grand Canal, as the only east-west waterway of the Grand Canal, is the first city that Grand Canal enters Shandong from Jiangsu province.

Tai'erzhuang Ancient Town is an ancient water town, with unique architectural styles and well-known cultural legacies. It has the most complete canal cultural heritage system on the Grand Canal, which includes the 3 kilometers of the ancient canal, known as the "living canal".  

Tai'erzhuang Ancient Town (Photo/Jin Weiduo)

Tai'erzhuang is known as "the first village in the world". In the spring of 1938, the Tai'erzhuang battel broke out here, which made Tai'erzhuang known to the world, but the ancient city, unfortunately, turned into ruins in the war. After the restoration and reconstruction, the city has become a famous cultural city with a blend of North and South and a combination of Chinese and Western cultures along the Grand Canal.

In addition to the "shining" canal culture, Zaozhuang is also the hometown of Luban and Mozi and the hometown of railway guerrillas. The media group visited the Railway Brigades Memorial in Xuecheng District, Zaozhuang. In recent years, relying on the red cultural resources with "railway guerrillas" as the core, Xuecheng District has passed on the spirit of the Chinese nation from generation to generation.

Reporter: Jin Weiduo

Editor: Ye Ke