The North Canal Bridge offers a view of the start point of the Grand Canal in Beijing’s Tongzhou district. On April 28, a 707-kilometer northern section of the canal was filled with water, meaning the vast waterway from Beijing to Hangzhou was fully connected for the first time in a century. Photo: VCG

A resident catches fish on the canal in Tianjin in 2014. The water replenishment project started on April 14, refilling the canal’s dried-out sections in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei and Shandong provinces. Photo: VCG

Water flows through the canal in Cangzhou, North China’s Hebei province. Photo: VCG

On April 28, a control gate at the Sinü Temple Hub in Dezhou, East China’s Shandong province, opened to release water, marking the full connection of the canal. Photo: Xinhua

A resident navigates the Grand Canal in January 2021 in Jining, East China’s Shandong province. Photo: VCG

An overview of the canal’s Tai'erzhuang section in East China’s Shandong province, the mid-point of the Grand Canal. Photo: VCG

Lights illuminate a container terminal along the Grand Canal on April 1 in Huai'an, East China’s Jiangsu province. The canal, measuring more than 1,700 kilometers, links the Yellow and Yangtze rivers and serves as a significant transportation artery. Photo: VCG

Motorboats and rowboats navigate the Grand Canal around 1979 near Suzhou, East China’s Jiangsu province. Photo by Nik Wheeler/VCG

Boats berth on the waters of the canal in 1978 in Wuxi, East China’s Jiangsu province. Photo: Paolo Koch/VCG

A man navigates the canal in 2007 in Jiaxing, East China’s Zhejiang province. In June 2014, the World Heritage Committee listed the Grand Canal as a World Heritage Site. Photo: VCG

An overview of the canal’s endpoint in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang province. The canal has a history of more than 2,500 years and can be traced to the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 B.C.). Photo: VCG