The Changzhou Section of the Grand Canal: A Flowing Epic of Home
Notes:
This English version has been adapted for accessibility to English-speaking readers, with minor adjustments made for clarity. All images and captions are sourced from the original publication, with copyrights retained by their original creators, included to honor the spirit and details of the initial work. The original article in Chinese is available for viewing here.
Author: 运河橹声
Date Published: February 13, 2026
Location: Jiangsu
I was born at the South Gate of Changzhou and grew up by the West Gate. My personal growth and understanding of life have always been accompanied by the waters of the Changzhou stretch of the Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal. Especially the section from Xidawang Temple to Dongpo Park, later recognized as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, has become more than geography to me. It is the reflection of childhood in the rippling water, the riverbank of youthful runs, and a lifeline connecting past and future.
1. A Thousand-Year Waterway and Commercial Artery
In ancient times, Changzhou was a vital route for tribute transport; in modern times, it became fertile ground for the rise of national industry and commerce. The canal acted as a never‑ending artery of logistics, carrying soybeans from the north, rice from the south, and timber from inland, while exporting Changzhou’s textiles, combs, and cultural products across the country. It did not merely carry goods passively, it actively shaped Changzhou, transforming it from a local prefecture into a national hub for trade and price formation.
The soybean and timber trades along the western canal illustrate this vividly. Historical records show that by the late Qing dynasty, annual soybean sales in Changzhou reached three to five million bushels, with prices set here influencing the entire national market. By 1914, seventeen soybean firms operated along the canal, and in peak years, transactions exceeded six million bushels. Changzhou’s open bargaining system gave it decisive influence over soybean prices nationwide. Timber also thrived along Sanbao Street, where the canal’s geography favored storage and distribution. After the victory of the War of Resistance in 1945, timber demand surged, and Changzhou’s timber yards flourished, with more than fifty shops concentrated in one district. These industries gave Changzhou economic influence far beyond its borders.
Flowing through the canal’s very framework was a spirit of pragmatism, enterprise, and innovation. This spirit laid the foundation for the later emergence of industrial giants such as Sheng Xuanhuai, Xi Jiuru, and Liu Guojun.
2. Historical Anecdotes and Old Memories
Xidawang Temple and Sanbao Street were once the bustling frontlines of commerce, filled with sweat, shouts, and the rhythm of trade. At Xidawang Temple, boatmen, timber merchants, and soybean traders worshipped the canal’s protective deity, the “Golden Dragon King.” Behind the flourishing incense was both reverence for the dangers of river transport and prayers for prosperous business. Whenever timber rafts arrived, grand “King’s Festivals” were held, with opera performances, banquets, and lively gatherings. The air was thick with the fragrance of wood, the briny scent of river water, and the warmth of human celebration. Family records, such as Congxuntang Chronicles, preserve vivid accounts of these scenes.
Moving eastward, the soybean markets and Biji Lane represented sharp commercial calculation and refined craftsmanship. Along the canal’s banks, seventeen soybean firms once stood side by side, with mountains of beans piled high and countless sails crowding the river. The sounds of abacuses, bargaining, and work chants blended into a powerful symphony of wealth. Biji Lane, meanwhile, became famous for its exquisite comb-making, known as “palace combs.” At night, workshops glowed with lamplight, and the rasping of artisans polishing combs mingled with the flow of canal water, creating a vivid portrait of everyday life: “the creak of work at night, the bustle of shipments at dawn.”
After returning from the countryside, I worked for seven or eight years at the Biji Lane wharf warehouses, near the historic Pilin Stele Pavilion and the site described in Dream of the Red Chamber where Jia Baoyu parted from his father. Across the street lived the family of Bu Zhongkuan, the eighth-generation heir of the renowned Bu Hengshun comb shop. I still recall the steady figure of an elder at their doorway, bent over his craft with sculptural patience. Families like the Bu household were not unique. Many in the lane carried on the comb-making tradition. The Jin family’s eldest son later succeeded as director of the Changzhou Comb Factory. It is no wonder that Emperor Qianlong, upon visiting Changzhou, renamed the local Flower Market Street as Biji Lane in honor of this craft.
From Biji Lane, the canal splits at Tulongzui. One branch flows east into the ancient Spring and Autumn canal, passing through Qinguo Lane, while the other continues along the Ming and Qing canal route toward the old eastern suburbs, today’s Dongpo Park.
Dongpo Park (Yizhou Pavilion) stands as the cultural heart of this canal section and a place of spiritual belonging. The poet Su Dongpo visited Changzhou more than ten times and eventually spent his final years here. Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong also came to this site on multiple occasions, enriching it with layers of cultural significance.
One highlight within the park is the Ming‑era Guangji Bridge. Originally spanning the western canal, it was relocated here in 1986 during canal expansion. Like an elder who has moved to a new home, its body rests in a different setting, but its soul still carries ancient memories. Quietly, it tells the story of the canal’s transformations and embodies the deep nostalgia held by generations of Changzhou residents.
3. Qinguo Lane: A Constellation of Humanistic Stars
The canal nourished not only commerce but also the spirit, and nowhere is this more evident than in Qinguo Lane. I was born just south of Diaoqiao Lane, a canal branch that runs parallel to Qinguo Lane. Though only a few hundred meters long, Qinguo Lane became a microcosm of Chinese civilization, producing not just local figures but intellectual giants who illuminated modern Chinese history.
Among them were three renowned linguists: Qu Qiubai, Zhao Yuanren, and Zhou Youguang, who pioneered reforms that revolutionized the Chinese writing system. Through Latinized scripts, phonetic romanization, and ultimately the creation of the modern pinyin system, they opened a path toward communication and enlightenment in a nation of diverse dialects. Their work shaped literacy, speech, and language use for every Chinese person. Without Zhou Youguang’s pinyin scheme, even something as simple as typing on a modern keyboard would be far more complicated and costly.
Yet the brilliance of Qinguo Lane extended beyond linguistics. Sheng Xuanhuai, celebrated as the “Father of Chinese Industry,” also lived here. He founded China’s first modern joint‑stock shipping company, its first modern university (Beiyang University, now Tianjin University), and its first telegraph bureau, among many other “firsts.” His achievements magnified the entrepreneurial spirit nurtured by the canal into a grand national narrative.
Qinguo Lane produced not only linguists and industrialists but also writers and jurists who left a lasting mark on Chinese society. Novelist Li Boyuan, author of The Bureaucrats, used sharp satire to expose the deep ailments of late Qing society. Legal pioneers Shi Liang and Zhang Zhirang made immortal contributions to the development of law in New China. Whether through practical action, incisive writing, or dedication to justice, they enriched the nation’s pursuit of renewal from different dimensions.
This small lane tells us that the humanistic spirit nurtured by the canal is multifaceted. It embodies the revolutionary passion of “establishing destiny for the people” (Qu Qiubai), the scholarly pursuit of “continuing the learning of the sages” (Zhao Yuanren, Zhou Youguang), the industrial ambition of “revitalizing the nation through enterprise” (Sheng Xuanhuai, Liu Guojun), and the literary courage of “criticizing social ills” (Li Boyuan). Together, they form the most brilliant and profound constellation of souls along the Changzhou section of the Grand Canal.
4. Everyday Life and Intangible Heritage
The Changzhou section of the Grand Canal is a flowing corridor of civilization. It not only carried goods from north and south but also preserved the wisdom and emotions of the people along its banks, forming distinctive local customs. These traditions, fluid as water, permeated festivals, weddings, work, and daily life, weaving a rich and vibrant cultural fabric. Beyond grand historical narratives, the canal’s everyday life radiated a unique warmth, a kind of living poetry created by folk customs and intangible heritage crafts.
The rituals of boat‑dwellers were especially distinctive. In earlier times, weddings were held on boats, with the “bridal boat” decorated in red and festooned with ribbons. Passing under bridges or temples, firecrackers were set off to seek divine protection. Festivals were even more communal. At De’an Bridge, young men and women once sang antiphonal songs across the river, turning the occasion into a grand celebration of courtship.
Dragon boat racing, rooted in Changzhou’s nickname “Dragon City,” became a city‑level intangible heritage tradition. Each year during the Dragon Boat Festival, drums thundered across the canal as countless boats surged forward, while cheers erupted from both banks. The water’s vitality and human passion were displayed in full. In 2025, dragon boat races held along the Biji Lane section incorporated modern elements. Boats gliding in the water, “dragons” soaring in the sky, drawing crowds from across the city to participate and watch.
Intangible heritage in Changzhou is not something locked away in museums, it is craftsmanship woven into everyday life. The city’s comb‑making tradition, celebrated as “palace combs,” is inseparable from the Grand Canal. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Changzhou combs were chosen as tribute items for the imperial court. Biji Lane was historically the center of both production and trade.
The process of making a comb is intricate: a simple comb requires 28 steps, while a fine-toothed comb involves as many as 73. Generations of artisans have continued to innovate, creating themed combs that depict canal scenes such as Biji Lane and Shilongzui. Other local crafts also flourished—random‑stitch embroidery, which uses thread like paint to create the light and shadow of Western oil paintings, and Jintan paper‑cutting, which carves entire worlds into a few square inches.
Like the combs of Changzhou, these crafts are no longer just static specimens in museums. Through heritage workshops and cultural markets, they have returned to modern life, becoming tangible, usable, and beautiful expressions of living tradition.
5. From Industrial Pulse to Cultural Showcase
As the wheels of time moved forward, the canal’s role also transformed. Once, the Sanbao Street area echoed with the roar of textile and machinery factories, and the canal carried the new pulse of industrialization. When industries later upgraded, these relics of industry were not abandoned but instead embraced a creative “renaissance.”
The Canal No. 5 Creative District arose from the former Changzhou Fifth Woolen Mill. Its weathered factory buildings and vast warehouses have been reborn as art galleries and designer studios, where youthful ideas now thrive in historic spaces. The former warp‑knitting workshop became the Changzhou Archives Exhibition Center, preserving the city’s industrial memory. After the soy sauce factory was converted into a cultural hub in 2025, Sanbao Street welcomed a new landmark “Hang 5,” located at the former Changzhou Nautical Instrument Factory, soon to become a fresh cultural beacon along the canal. On the eastern side, the Dacheng No. 3 Factory was transformed into a textile museum, blending history, technology, art, and fashion, and has already become a landmark of style and education in Changzhou.
One of the most celebrated developments has been the reopening of the historic “Qianlong Route” canal cruise. Boarding at the Sanbao Street wharf, boats travel eastward, passing Biji Lane, the old city walls, and finally arriving at Dongpo Park.
This route connects more than just geographic points; it is a river of time. It allows citizens and visitors to relive the classical poetry of “boats gliding on the river, people wandering in a painting,” shimmering with reflections on the water. The restored journey bears witness to the canal’s transformation from a vital economic artery into a vibrant cultural showcase.
Attribution & Credentials:
- Source & Images: Changzhou Canal Research Journal, Issue 1, 2026
