Water level line of Bazizui Navigation and Power Junction in Xinjiang
The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, which really connects the north and the south and has far-reaching influence, extended northward in the Sui Dynasty. After many transformations and expansions in different dynasties, the Qiantang River, the Yangtze River, the Huaihe River, the Yellow River and the Haihe River are connected together, forming a large north-south waterway connecting multiple water systems.
The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has broken the general rule that the great rivers in China run from west to east, created an inland traffic artery that runs through the north and south, and promoted the development of commercial towns along the route. Today, its strategic significance is still outstanding. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is not only one of the most famous canals in the world at present, but also has made great contributions to the economic development of the north and south of China since ancient times.
The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is an important inland waterway connecting the north and the south, so is there any inland waterway connecting the north and the south? Honestly, it's really not.
But this is also something that people have wanted to accomplish since ancient times, that is, to dig the Ganyue Canal between the Ganjiang River in Jiangxi and the Pearl River in Guangdong to connect the two major water systems.
Jiangxi is located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, with numerous tributaries and lakes. Poyang Lake, in particular, is not only the largest lake in the Yangtze River basin, but also the largest freshwater lake in China.
As the seventh largest tributary of the Yangtze River system, Ganjiang River is connected to the main stream of the Yangtze River and Poyang Lake in the north and Beijiang River, a tributary of the Pearl River in Shaoguan, Guangdong, in the south. Jiangxi is known as "Wu Chu Wei, Guangdong Humin Pavilion"!
Therefore, in ancient times, it was proposed to build the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal. According to historical records, Jie Jin, the main author of Yongle Dadian and a great scholar in Ming Dynasty, first put forward this idea. In his memorial to Judy, he mentioned that he hoped to build a canal between Ganjiang River and Beijiang River to irrigate farmland.
During the Republic of China, Dr. Sun Yat-sen also put forward a plan to build a canal in the General Plan for the Founding of the People's Republic of China. For the development of shipping and agriculture in southern Jiangxi and northern Guangdong, the construction plan was once planned. However, due to the war, the plan was finally abandoned.
Since the founding of New China, the voice of building the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal has been growing. In the work plans submitted by the Jiangxi Provincial Communications Department over the years, the planning of building the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal was also mentioned.
In 1980s, some people put forward the plan and concrete idea of building the Ganyue Canal: we can learn from the development experience of Tennessee River in the United States and Rhone River in France. The construction of the canal will bring considerable dividends to the economy, agriculture, transportation and tourism in southern Jiangxi and northern Guangdong. From the Yangtze River estuary to Ganjiang River and Xinfeng to Nanxiong, Guangdong Province, the river course is about 6 kilometers, which can connect Beijiang River with the main stream of Pearl River.
At that time, this proposal was also taken seriously, and the sources of funds and construction plans were planned many times in conjunction with the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Agriculture and other relevant departments. However, due to objective factors such as immature conditions, the plan was finally put on hold.
Entering the 2nd/kloc-0th century, with the growth of China's economic development, the construction of the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal has been put on the agenda again. In 2002, Liu Dehong, then deputy director of the Maritime Safety Administration of the Ministry of Communications, submitted a proposal to the CPPCC: "Opening the Gan-Yue Canal to lay the foundation for enriching the people".
With the strengthening of inland waterway regulation by governments at all levels, advanced waterways in Ganjiang River Basin and Beijiang River Basin have been built and opened, laying a solid foundation for the construction of Ganyue Canal.
When inspecting the Yangzhou section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, the General Secretary mentioned the importance of the Canal to the national economy and the surrounding people, which once again put forward a clear direction for the construction of the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal from the state to the local level.
However, building a canal is also a huge project. At present, there is a plan and conception for the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal:
In recent years, with the completion of a number of waterway projects near the river basin, such as Kongjiang Reservoir, Xinjiang Bazizui Navigation and Power Hub, Jinggangshan Navigation and Power Hub, the Ganjiang and Xinjiang waterways have been able to accommodate 1,000-ton ships.
At present, the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal has been included in the layout plan of the national high-grade waterway network of "four verticals, four horizontals and two networks", and it is expected that the waterway will be classified and regulated. Strive to build a golden waterway connecting the Yangtze River system, the Pearl River system and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.
In the future, with the navigation of the canal, the river transport in the central and southern parts of the western Yangtze River can directly reach the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta. This will provide an important channel for the rapid economic development of southern Jiangxi and northern Guangdong. At the same time, it also provides a barrier for flood control and drought prevention in the Yangtze River Basin and the Pearl River Basin.
Water conservancy project has always been a national event, and the disputes caused by it are also constant. Like the ancient Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and the modern Three Gorges Project, some people have raised objections to this, and the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal is no exception.
Since the idea of the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal was put forward, there have been many opposing voices and different opinions. Among them, the impact on the ecology of the Yangtze River basin and Poyang Lake has always been the key to the failure to fully carry out the project.
Many experts, scholars and the masses believe that building a canal in the upper reaches of the Ganjiang River will inevitably have a great impact on the quality and quantity of Poyang Lake in the lower reaches, and digging a river to divert water into the Beijiang River will also greatly reduce the amount of water flowing from the Ganjiang River into Poyang Lake and the Yangtze River.
At present, the Poyang Lake ecosystem is quite fragile, and the excessive economic development and river construction make the water area smaller and smaller. If the canal is dug, it will further aggravate the ecological damage to the largest freshwater lake in China, and then affect the ecological environment of the whole middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
At the same time, the excavation of open channel will inevitably affect the ecological environment in the border area of Jiangxi and Guangdong, especially the vegetation in the watershed area.
Another view is that China's expressway and high-speed railway transportation have entered the advanced level in the world, and the proportion of inland river shipping is not large. Spending a lot of manpower and material resources to build the canal, whether in the short term or in the long term, is neither in line with national conditions nor with reality. Especially in the central and southern areas of Jiangxi Province, the economy is relatively poor, and the construction of the canal is bound to pay a great price.
But from a comprehensive point of view, it is not necessarily impossible to dig the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal. As an ancient transportation system, inland river shipping has played an important role in the process of human history and civilization.
Whether it is the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal in China or the Panama Canal, Suez Canal and Rhine-Danube Canal in the world, people have criticized it to some extent in the construction process. But judging from the actual contribution of these canals to mankind, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
China has a vast territory and abundant water resources. Although the mileage of inland waterways ranks first in the world, only 7% of them are over 1000 tons, far below the average level of developed countries in Europe and America-60%.
Therefore, scientific planning, reasonable waterway regulation, and balanced development also require a deep understanding of protecting the natural ecological environment, and concentrate on exploring the waterway regulation and resource advantages of the Yangtze River, the Pearl River basin and the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal basin, so as to develop the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal project more reasonably.
Really turn the natural barrier into a thoroughfare and comprehensively promote the economic development of central and southern Jiangxi and northern Guangdong. It will not destroy the green mountains and green hills, but also build an ideal waterway leading to Jinshan Yinshan!