China Grand Canal Museum opens in Yangzhou

The China Grand Canal Museum opened Wednesday in Yangzhou city, east China’s Jiangsu province in concurrence with the Grand Canal Cultural Development Forum. Liu Qibao, vice chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC, addressed the opening ceremony. Lou Qinjian, Secretary of the CPC Provincial Committee, and Wu Zhenglong, vice secretary the CPC Provincial Committee and governor of Jiangsu, met with some guests.Wu Zhenglong and Jiangjianguo, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Information, and Rao Quan, Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism, delivered speeches.

Liu Qibao said the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have attached great importance to the protection, inheritance and utilization of the Grand Canal, adding that General Secretary Xi Jinping has made important instructions on several occasions, which has pointed out the directions and provided a major follow-up.

Embarking on the new starting point, we must gain a deeper understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions so as to accurately understand the new development stage, act on the new development philosophy and accelerate the establishment of the new development paradigm and open up a new scenario in the e protection, inheritance and utilization of the Grand Canal in the new era, said the vice chairman of the CPPCC National Committee. 

Liu Qibao called for further efforts to build a new pattern of integrated development of the Grand Canal culture and tourism by adhering to opening to the outside world and international communication, creating a new highland for world canal cultural exchange and cooperation, and work together to promote the high-quality construction and development of the Grand Canal cultural belt and the National Cultural Park.

He hoped that the Grand Canal Cultural Development Forum will become an important platform for exchange, academic research and foreign exchanges in the construction of the Grand Canal National Cultural Park. He also hoped that the China Grand Canal Museum in Yangzhou will become an important window for telling the story of China's Grand Canal to the world, and make positive contributions to displaying China's image, inheriting Chinese civilization and highlighting cultural confidence.

Lou Qinjian expressed his heartfelt thanks to the CPPCC National Committee and the ministries and commissions under the State Council for their concern for the construction of Jiangsu Grand Canal cultural belt and support for the construction of China Grand Canal Museum in Yangzhou.

Lou Qinjian said that in November last year, General Secretary Xi Jinping spoke highly of the construction of the Grand Canal cultural belt during his inspection tour in Jiangsu.

The Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee said that Jiangsu will promote the study and understanding of the General Secretary’s important instructions, fulfill Jiangsu's responsibilities in the construction of the Grand Canal cultural belt and the National Cultural Park, and make Jiangsu’s contribution to the display of the national image, the dissemination of the Chinese civilization, and the demonstration of cultural confidence.

Wu Zhenglong remarked that the opening of the China Grand Canal Museum and the hosting of the Grand Canal Cultural Forum in Yangzhou will undoubtedly contribute to displaying China's image, inheriting the Grand Canal civilization, disseminating the Grand Canal culture, benefiting the people along the canal and highlighting cultural confidence.

The Governor said Jiangsu will promote the study and understanding of the General Secretary’s important instructions to give a strong impetus to the protection, inheritance and utilization of the Grand Canal so that the Grand Canal National Cultural Park will be built with Chinese style and Jiangsu characteristics from a global perspective, and the Jiangsu section of the Grand Canal will be built into a "bright name card" of Jiangsu.

Jiang Jianguo pointed out that the construction of a national cultural park is a major policy decision made by the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core and it is a major cultural project to promote cultural prosperity and development in the new era.

Noting that Jiangsu has played a demonstrative role in the construction of thee Grand Canal National Cultural Park and the launch of the Grand Canal Museum, Jiang called for further efforts to gain a deeper understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions so as to promote the construction of the Grand Canal National Cultural Park with high quality, and strive to create bright name card for China's image in the new era, a cultural corridor for Chinese civilization, a harmonious and livable beautiful homeland, and a platform for exchanging stories between China and the rest of the world.

Rao Quan urged more measures to implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions, and jointly promote the protection and inheritance of the Grand Canal culture through the promotion of the development of culture and tourism along the Grand Canal so as to make the Grand Canal a bright name card to publicize China's image, display Chinese civilization and highlight cultural confidence.

Long scrolls of calligraphy and painting on the history of the Grand Canal were displayed at the opening ceremony. 

Renowned scholars Shan Jixiang, Li Xiaocong and Zhang Jingqiu gave presentations at the Grand Canal Cultural Development Forum. 

The Grand Canal Museum has so far collected more than 10,000 exhibits of various cultural relics, including ancient books, calligraphy and painting, inscriptions, ceramics, metalware, and miscellaneous items reflecting the theme of the Grand Canal from the Spring and Autumn Period to the contemporary era. There will be 2 basic displays and 9 exhibits that will vividly showcase the Chinese wisdom of the Grand Canal in terms of national governance, cultural integration, foreign exchanges, river engineering technology, and transportation. 

China aims to develop the Grand Canal, a vast waterway running from Beijing to Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province, into a thriving tourist site and a symbol of the Chinese culture, according to a plan issued last October by central government departments including the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the National Development and Reform Commission.

The Grand Canal is almost 3,200 km long in total, including the one stretching from Beijing to Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province. It has a history of more than 2,500 years. Over 1,000 km of the canal was recognized as a world heritage site in 2014.