The merchants, grain transport, wood industry, rice industry, bean industry, fruit industry, tea industry and national industries that thrived on the canal in the old days have created the brilliance of Changzhou's economy. The unique cultural phenomenon of Changzhou that rose accordingly occurred, developed, and was distributed along the canal. Changzhou is called "Dragon City", and the water of the canal surrounding the city has formed a city wall structure in the shape of a turtle city and dragon. The "Longcheng Academy", "Six Dragons Entering the County City", industrial economy "Six Dragons", "China Dinosaur Park" and roads, bridges, rivers, alleys, ports, ships named after dragons make "Dragon City" more meaningful. Tianning Temple built on the side of the canal during the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, after withstanding the tests of destruction and reconstruction over thousands of years of war, has finally become the "First Forest of Jiangnan", forming Changzhou's unique religious culture of "a pure land in the bustling market".
Changzhou city was built by the river and prospered because of the water. The canal water flows through the city and surrounds it. After more than two thousand years of sedimentation, the ancient canal of Changzhou has formed unique urban characteristics and cultural features such as whitewashed walls, black tiles, small bridges, flowing water, farming and reading families, and riverside households; As Changzhou's Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal cultural experience trip was selected for the World Expo, the tourism department of Changzhou city has just opened up a route for ancient canal cultural tours, including attractions such as Tianning Temple, Hongmei Park, Canal No. 5, Ge Xiaoxing Cigarette Label Museum, Dongpo Park, ancient canal water tours, Changzhou Comb Factory, etc. The month of March is the best time to take a boat tour of the ancient canal. With spring flowers blooming, why not stroll along the canal with your family and enjoy the bright spring scenery on both sides of the canal.
As early as the 1980s, Changzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou, and other cities launched ancient canal tours, attracting countless domestic and foreign tourists, receiving multiple tour groups a day at the time, and the canal journey was called the "Emperor's Journey".
The ancient canal of Changzhou outlines the "Turtle City Dragon Shape"
The ancient canal water tour starts from Biji Alley in the west and ends at Dongpo Park in the east. Along the way, you can visit attractions such as the Big Wharf, Piling Post, Biji Alley, Wenheng Bridge, Xiyinli, Ming City Wall, Qingguo Alley, Front and Back North Shore, Tianning Pagoda, Tianning Temple, Hongmei Park, and Dongpo Park. From Guanhe Mouth through Xizhijie Street to Haided Bridge, the original appearance of old houses and buildings along the shore are relatively well preserved, with whitewashed walls, black tiles, and stone docks. East of Haided Bridge lies the famous Biji Alley. Within the alley, there are ancient relics such as the Big Wharf, Piling Post Stele, Comb Building, "Biliang Lanterns" Archway, Jingshui Pavilion, Chuanyue Building, and Wenheng Bridge. "Biliang Lanterns" is one of the eight famous scenes of the western suburbs of Changzhou in ancient times. The sparkling lamp reflections were once mirrored in the canal water, blending with the lanterns on the boats ashore, resembling a golden dragon. Now, you can still vaguely see the four big characters "Biliang Lanterns" on the double-eave archway. After passing through Biji Alley, the canal splits into the Inner and Outer South Rivers. The Inner River borders the ancient cultural area of Xiyinli to the west, runs alongside Qingguo Alley to the east, converges with the northern inner river at Yanling Road, and meets the Outer River at Dongpo Park. While appreciating the beautiful scenery and historical sites of Changzhou, visitors can listen to the soft Wu dialect, enjoy Jiangnan silk and bamboo music, taste Longcheng cuisine, and admire the historical style and urban scenery of the "Famous Capital of Eight Prefectures" on the ancient canal lined with green willows, feeling the fusion of history and reality.
With the opening of the new canal, the main function of the ancient canal has shifted from "freight transportation" to "tourism and sightseeing". The launch of the ancient canal water tour has fully presented the beautiful scenery of the ancient canal to the citizens. The ancient canal water tour of Changzhou differs from other cities. The ancient canal of Changzhou is one of the few canals in the country that passes through the city center. In many cities, the most prominent feature of the canal tour is the lighting and greening on both sides, while the ancient canal of Changzhou highlights the culture on both sides.