Brief information on Grand Canal (Suzhou Section)  

Grand Canal, also known as Jinghang (Beijing to Hangzhou) Grand Canal, is the most ancient man-made canal in China and the world. With a length of around 1,770 km, Grand Canal traverses Beijing, Tianjin, and the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, to the city of Hangzhou. The oldest sections of the canal can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period, more than 2,400 years ago.

The Grand Canal Suzhou Section refers to the part from Wuqi Bridge (the border of Suzhou and Wuxi) to Yazi Ba (the border of Suzhou and Zhejiang Province),which covers around 82.35 km. Suzhou Section is the essential part undertaking freight transport on the canal. Most of the coal, constructional materials, rice, oil and various agricultural products to the city, towns, villages are transferred through the course of the river. The Canal flowing through the city has left many places of historical interest along the river. It is easy for visitors to travel to Hangzhou from Suzhou City by ship, and appreciate these sights along the canal.

*You can download the bilingual note to show it to a taxi driver or someone else to find your way to Grand Canal (Suzhou Section) if you plan to visit Grand Canal (Suzhou Section) and have language problems.