The Ling Canal

The Ling Canal dates back to the Qin Dynasty - the first to unify China. It was an important aid to that unification, linking the Pearl River water system with that of the Yangtse River.

The canal lies about 50 km north of Guilin and runs for approximately 34 km. The actual technical achievements may interest a few specialist but for most visitors the site is an excuse to get out to another area of countryside. Expect to see a few domestic tourists but, apart from major holidays, there are not likely to be hordes as most of the sites they are directed to lie elsewhere.

For those who are interested, the site consists of:

• two canals: one to the north and one to the south;
• a spillway;
• boat locks; and
  
• a ploughshare.

The ploughshare is still functional, being used to take a proportion of the flow away for irrigation.

It is well worth exploring the site to see quite how remarkable an achievement it actually was for 2000 years ago. There is a considerable height difference between the two rivers and so only a complex series of locks keeps the water from running away too quickly for practical use.

You can take a boat ride along part of the canal. Why not try it for a complete change of pace.