The history of the Grand Canal from Beijing to Hangzhou spans a thousand years, and it is also a history of Hangzhou's development
As the southern starting point of the Grand Canal, Hangzhou is a city that has flourished because of the canal. The well-developed canal water conservancy and navigation system is the foundation of Hangzhou's prosperity since ancient times, and it is also the lifeblood of the city. Understanding the Grand Canal, the 'golden waterway' that has been renowned for a thousand years, is to understand Hangzhou.
In the early Qin Dynasty, Qiantang County was established, with the county seat located at the foot of Lingyin Mountain (some say it was on the hillside). Based on the Hundred Chi Canal from the 'Wu-Yue Struggle for Supremacy', the Ling Waterway was built, allowing Suzhou to directly reach the Qiantang River, which is today's Shangtang River.
According to the legend of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's southern tour and anchoring at Baoshi Mountain, the ship was pulled by manpower to turn around Wushan Cape on the south side of the bay, and then turned south to Liupu at Phoenix Mountain to enter the Qiantang River.
For a long time, Hangzhou was just a small county in the mountains between Wu County (Suzhou), the county seat of Wu Prefecture, and Shanyin (Shaoxing), the county seat of Kuaiji Prefecture. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Huaxin built a sea wall on Zhongshan Road, isolating West Lake from the sea.
During the Taishi period of the Liu Song Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties (465-471), the county seat of Qiantang County expanded northward from Liupu (328) to the area of today's Drum Tower, and a 'New City Garrison' was set up.
The Sui Dynasty dug a north-south canal centered on Luoyang. The western end of Zhejiang was connected to the Silk Road on land via Luoyang, and the eastern end extended the commercial route to Mingzhou via the Hangzhou-Yong Canal, leading to the sea.
The area along the canal north of the city was bustling, with the 'Ten Li Silver Lake Villa' and 'North Gate Night Market' emerging. General Yang Su built the earliest city wall, and Hangzhou, with access to the river and the sea, became the transportation hub of the two Zhejiang provinces.
During the Tang Dynasty, Song Jing and Cui Yan opened the Sha River to drain the Qiantang River tide. Li Bi built the Stone Box Bridge and set up a water gate to divert water from West Lake into the canal. Bai Juyi built a dike to store water, and when there was a lot of water, it was released into the Shangtang River through the Stone Box Gate, and when there was less water, it was supplemented by water from Linping Lake through the canal.
During the Tang Dynasty, Qinghu River served as the main waterway for transportation within the city, and the area around Wulin Gate became a distribution center for goods. Two large grass markets were formed in Qingcheng North and South, and Hangzhou's silk industry developed rapidly, with the persimmon pattern produced in Hangzhou being quite outstanding.
The Jianggan area south of the city became a dock for foreign trade, with sea ships changing to small boats in Mingzhou, taking the Zhejiang East Canal and then entering Hangzhou from the Qiantang River.
During the Five Dynasties, Hangzhou became the capital of Wuyue, with the 'Du Shui Ying Tian Si' and 'Liao Qian Army' managing canal water conservancy affairs. The North River became the city's eastern moat (today's East River), and the South River (Longshan River, today's Middle River extension) entered the Qiantang River at the White Pagoda.
Qian Liu organized more than 200,000 soldiers and civilians to build the Hanhai Stone Pond, which served as a barrier to prevent the city's internal rivers from communicating with the sea. In 910, the Longshan Gate (today's Gate) and Zhejiang Gate (Liupu, today's Nanxing Overpass) were established.
Qian Liu dug the Longshan River, connecting the Yanqiao River with the Maoshan River, and chiseled the 'Raksha' stone, making Hangzhou a seaport city. He also built the Jia City and Luo City, and later built the Zi City on the site of the Tang Dynasty state capital at the foot of Phoenix Mountain, forming a waist drum city that was long from north to south and narrow from east to west.