In this episode, I'm presenting a simple but still informative overview of not only the Grand Canal but also the bigger subject of canals in China. The history of the Grand Canal isn't one clean linear story of a structure built all at one time. Although it measures over a thousand miles long, much of that distance was pre-existing in the form of rivers and old canals that were joined together to form an uninterrupted passage. A lot of the academic papers I used to research this topic, despite water being the main topic, were as dry as the day is long. I tried to make it all nice and simple and easy to digest. This World Heritage Site is well-known to many but its history, perhaps less so. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices