Lingqu

For the village in Tibet, seeLingqu, Tibet.

Lingqu
Location	Xing'an County,Guangxi
Country	China
Specifications
Length	36.4 km (22.6 miles)

TheLingqu(simplified Chinese:Linh cừ;traditional Chinese:Linh cừ;pinyin:Líng Qú) is a canal inXing'an County,nearGuilin,in the northwestern corner ofGuangxi,China.

It connects theXiang River(which flows north into theYangtze) with theLi River(which flows south into theGui RiverandXijiang), and thus is part of a historical waterway between the Yangtze and thePearl River Delta.It was the first canal in the world to connect two river valleys and enabled boats to travel 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) inland fromBeijingtoPearl River Delta.It is also one of the most well-preserved such projects in the world.

The canal is 36.4 kilometres (22.6 mi) long.

History

In 214 BC,Qin Shi Huang,the First Emperor of theQin dynasty(221–206 BC), ordered the construction of a canal connecting the Xiang and the Li rivers, in order toattacktheBaiyuetribes in the south. The architect who designed the canal was Shi Lu (Chinese:Sử lộc). It is the oldestcontour canalin the world,receiving its water from the Xiang. It was fitted with thirty-sevenflash locksby 825 AD. There is a clear description of pound locks in the twelfth century, which were probably installed one or two centuries before.The canal also aidedwater conservationby diverting up to a third of the flow of the Xiang to the Li.

The canal has been placed on theUNESCOWorld Heritage Sitestentative list.

See also

• History of canals in China
• Grand Canal of China
• Dujiangyan
• Zhengguo Canal

References

Bibliography

• Day, Lance and McNeil, Ian. (1996).Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology.New York: Routledge.ISBN0-415-06042-7.