The Grand Canal, a vast waterway connecting the northern and southern parts of China, has seen all of its dried-out sections refilled with water on Thursday after a 14-day water-supply project.
Launched by Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Shandong -- four of the regions the canal flows through, this project injected about 515 million cubic meters of water into the northern part of the canal.
This project is expected to increase the water surface of the Grand Canal by 9.5 square km from a year earlier and will also help improve the ecosystems along the canal.
With a history of more than 2,500 years, the Grand Canal connects Beijing and Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province, which served as a significant transportation artery in ancient China. The longest and oldest artificial waterway in the world, the Grand Canal is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Due to historical evolution, human activities and climate change, some sections of the canal began to dry up in the first half of the 20th century.
Produced by Xinhua Global Service
