{"id":2615,"date":"2025-05-29T19:09:02","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T19:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/?page_id=2615"},"modified":"2025-05-29T19:09:36","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T19:09:36","slug":"the-grand-canal-of-china-a-digital-exhibit-for-climate-action","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/the-grand-canal-of-china-a-digital-exhibit-for-climate-action\/","title":{"rendered":"The Grand Canal of China: A Digital Exhibit for Climate Action"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udf0d Introduction<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The Grand Canal of China \u2014 the world\u2019s longest artificial river \u2014 is not only a monument of historical ingenuity, but also a living landscape facing modern challenges. As climate change threatens its integrity through droughts, floods, and urban encroachment, digital heritage tools can play a key role in raising awareness and inspiring sustainable action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This exhibit explores how digital media can bring this UNESCO World Heritage site into the homes and minds of a global audience \u2014 connecting the past with our climate future.Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014, the Grand Canal is a vast waterway system in the north-eastern and central eastern plains of China, passing through eight of the country\u2019s present-day provinces.&nbsp;It runs from the capital Beijing in the north to Zhejiang Province in the south. Constructed in sections from the 5th century BC onwards, it was conceived as a unified means of communication for the Empire in the 7th century AD. In the 13th century AD, it could provide a unified inland navigation network consisting of more than 2,000 km of artificial waterways, linking five of the most important river basins in China, including the Yellow River and the Yangtze.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In terms of dealing with difficult natural conditions, the Grand Canal is reflected in many constructions that are fully adapted to the diversity and complexity of circumstances, which is a remarkable and early development of hydraulic engineering and an essential technological achievement before the Industrial Revolution.&nbsp; Additionally, it represents the greatest masterpiece of hydraulic engineering in the history of mankind, because of its very ancient origins and its vast scale, along with its continuous development and its adaptation to circumstances down the ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"695\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Modern_Course_of_Grand_Canal_of_China-695x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2653\" style=\"width:550px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Modern_Course_of_Grand_Canal_of_China-695x1024.png 695w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Modern_Course_of_Grand_Canal_of_China-204x300.png 204w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Modern_Course_of_Grand_Canal_of_China-768x1131.png 768w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Modern_Course_of_Grand_Canal_of_China.png 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 695px) 100vw, 695px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Featured Video VR: <em>A Journey Through the Grand Canal<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>The naked-eye 5D immersion experience in Exhibition Hall 1 of the China Grand Canal Museum is great. Visitors can travel through different cities along the Grand Canal and enjoy the beautiful scenery and city scenery along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=a8ewcCXOfLM\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=a8ewcCXOfLM<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Video Introduction of The Grand Canal<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"nv-iframe-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Grand Canal - UNESCO World Heritage Site\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-O19SeNqauA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Digital Gallery<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"839\" src=\"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.56.26-1024x839.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2661\" style=\"width:613px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.56.26-1024x839.png 1024w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.56.26-300x246.png 300w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.56.26-768x629.png 768w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.56.26-1536x1258.png 1536w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.56.26.png 1712w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vessels anchored at the Tongzhou segment of the Grand Canal in Beijing during the late 19th century<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover has-custom-content-position is-position-center-left\" style=\"min-height:319px;aspect-ratio:unset;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"804\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-2654\" alt=\"Vessels anchored at the Tongzhou segment of the Grand Canal in Beijing during the late 19th century\" src=\"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Tung-Chow_1-1024x804.jpg\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Tung-Chow_1-1024x804.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Tung-Chow_1-300x236.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Tung-Chow_1-768x603.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Tung-Chow_1-1536x1206.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Tung-Chow_1-2048x1608.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-cover-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"2655\" src=\"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/\u4eac\u676d\u5927\u904b\u6cb3\u5317\u904b\u6cb3\u6bb5-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2655\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/\u4eac\u676d\u5927\u904b\u6cb3\u5317\u904b\u6cb3\u6bb5-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/\u4eac\u676d\u5927\u904b\u6cb3\u5317\u904b\u6cb3\u6bb5-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/\u4eac\u676d\u5927\u904b\u6cb3\u5317\u904b\u6cb3\u6bb5-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/\u4eac\u676d\u5927\u904b\u6cb3\u5317\u904b\u6cb3\u6bb5-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/\u4eac\u676d\u5927\u904b\u6cb3\u5317\u904b\u6cb3\u6bb5-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">the Grand Canal (Tongzhou segment, Beijing)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Climate Threats and Reconstruction<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"922\" data-id=\"2658\" src=\"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.55.44-1024x922.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2658\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.55.44-1024x922.png 1024w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.55.44-300x270.png 300w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.55.44-768x692.png 768w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.55.44-1536x1383.png 1536w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.55.44.png 1828w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"862\" data-id=\"2659\" src=\"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.55.26-1024x862.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2659\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.55.26-1024x862.png 1024w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.55.26-300x253.png 300w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.55.26-768x647.png 768w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.55.26-1536x1294.png 1536w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.55.26.png 1826w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3D Virtual Modeling<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"970\" src=\"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.55.08-1024x970.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2663\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.55.08-1024x970.png 1024w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.55.08-300x284.png 300w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.55.08-768x728.png 768w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.55.08-1536x1455.png 1536w, https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-26-at-03.55.08.png 1716w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left\">Related UN Sustainable Development Goals<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-background\" style=\"background-color:#0a8078;color:#0a8078\" \/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>SDG<\/th><th>Connection<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>6 \u2013 Clean Water &amp; Sanitation<\/td><td>Protecting freshwater canals and water infrastructure<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>11.4 \u2013 Protect Heritage<\/td><td>Monitoring and safeguarding historical water systems<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>13 \u2013 Climate Action<\/td><td>Using digital tools to educate and inspire change<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>15 \u2013 Life on Land<\/td><td>Supporting ecological restoration along canal zones<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ud83c\udf0d Introduction The Grand Canal of China \u2014 the world\u2019s longest artificial river \u2014 is not only a monument of historical ingenuity, but also a living landscape facing modern challenges. As climate change threatens its integrity through droughts, floods, and urban encroachment, digital heritage tools can play a key role in raising awareness and inspiring&hellip;&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":200,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-2615","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/200"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2615"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2664,"href":"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2615\/revisions\/2664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.openvirtualworlds.org\/worldheritage2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}