Site of the Sui-Tang Grand Canal

The Sui-Tang Grand Canal is the longest man-made waterway in the world. Together with the Great Wall, it stands as one of the two monumental ancient engineering wonders created by the Chinese nation. The excavation of the Grand Canal boosted economic exchanges between northern and southern China. It was of vital significance to economic growth along the waterway and across the whole nation, as well as to ethnic harmony and national unification.

Over the 700 years from the Northern Song Dynasty to the Xianfeng reign of the Qing Dynasty, the Yellow River repeatedly flooded southward, seized the Huaihe River course and emptied into the sea. Silt deposition blocked the canal channel in Xiayi County, and this section was finally abandoned. Thanks to the prosperous water transportation in ancient times, numerous cultural relics were buried along the old canal route.

The Sui-Tang Canal cuts across the southern territory of Xiayi County. According to Imperial Geography of the Qing Dynasty: "The Sui Dyke lies three li outside Shangqiu city. It runs eastward through Xiayi and Yongcheng counties, following the old course of the Bian River constructed in the Sui Dynasty."

Entering Xiayi County from Yucheng County, the canal passed through Balimiao, Jiyang and Huiting, then stretched east into Yongcheng County. Its course roughly runs alongside the Shangqiu-Yongcheng Highway, with a total length of about 27 kilometres. In recent decades, a great number of cultural relics dating back to the Tang and Song dynasties have been unearthed during infrastructure and agricultural projects. These artefacts feature high artistic value and are rare cultural treasures.

A water surface stretching roughly 2,000 metres long and 30 to 50 metres wide is still preserved in the Jiyang section of Xiayi. It is the only well-preserved water section of the Grand Canal in northern China.

The Sui-Tang Grand Canal is being nominated for World Cultural Heritage status, and the Jiyang section in Xiayi has been officially designated as one of the heritage sites for this application