China Grand Canal Museum

The China Grand Canal Museum in Yunhe Park, Hanjiang District, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, is the national museum devoted to the Grand Canal, the world's longest artificial waterway, which stretches for around 1,800 km between Beijing and Hangzhou. Its earliest section, the Han Gou canal, was dug in the Wu state in 486 BC in the Spring and Autumn period, and Yangzhou stands at this original point. The canal was united into a single north-south system under the Sui dynasty in the early 7th century, and it later served as the transport artery for grain and tax goods under the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Yangzhou grew wealthy through the salt trade and canal traffic. UNESCO inscribed the Grand Canal as a World Heritage Site in 2014. The museum opened in 2021, and its architecture, with flowing roof lines suggesting sails, is set beside the canal and integrated into a waterside park. Inside, the exhibitions are organised around themes such as the canal's construction and engineering, water management, transport and trade, and canal culture and communities. Notable displays include detailed models of locks, boats and the Huai'an sluices, archaeological objects retrieved from canal excavations, historic maps and reconstructed scenes of canal life. Interactive and multimedia features help visitors follow the route of the canal. The curatorial approach mixes chronological narrative with immersive theme rooms, and there are sections devoted to the canal's ties to Yangzhou's salt merchants. The building is new, so the primary preservation concern is the collection. A full visit takes two to three hours, and the museum is accessible from Yangzhou's city centre by taxi or bus. Entry is free with reservation, and the neighbouring park makes a good place to walk along the canal afterwards.