Plenty to see and eat along the Grand Canal

Use it to protect it. This is the philosophy the Hangzhou government is taking to ensure the Grand Canal remains for centuries to come.

Added to UNESCO's World Heritage list last month, the world's longest artificial river starts in Beijing and ends in Hangzhou. It was built in stages between 486 BC and 1293. It was originally built to transport rice from the river valleys to cities, but eventually became a powerful symbol of national unity.

The Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces portions of the canal are the best because they have always been used by locals.

"The Hangzhou section of the Grand Canal is like a living zombie because people still use it and live near it," said Wang Zhe, an engineer of the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage.

Locals use the canal for leisure and recreation, as well as transportation. In Hangzhou, some roads alongside the canal have a variety of restaurants and snack stalls.

There are also five ferry routes (3 yuan) along the Grand Canal. Here's a closer look at the sights on routes No. 1 and No. 4. We will feature sights on routes No. 2 and No. 5 next Thursday.

Route No. 1 starts from Pujia stop, passes Genshenmen stop, Wulinmen stop, Xinyifang stop and stops at Gongchen Bridge stop.

Route No. 4 begins at Wulinmen stop, passes Shengli River stop, Gongda stop, Chaohui stop, and ends at Datieguan stop.

Passengers can disembark at Wulinmen, Xinyifang, Gongchen Bridge, Shengli River, and Chaohui stops.

Wulinmen Dock

The dock is next to Hangzhou Tower and there is a cluster of restaurants nearby. Nearby Wulin Road also features fashion boutiques and other interesting stores.

Queen's Park has many popular cafes and restaurants, including Maan Coffee and Metoo Cafe, both known for their decor, Night and Day, an affordable yet authentic Western restaurant, and Juchuan, a high-end Japanese restaurant.