The Grand Canal is a great engineering achievement created in ancient China. It is a living and flowing spiritual home of the Chinese nation, a cultural symbol with wide influence globally, and an important World Cultural Heritage site. The Beijing section of the Grand Canal runs through thousands of years and crosses seven districts. It has played an important role in the development of the capital, witnessed the city’s historical transformations, left behind rich historical remains, and carries valuable cultural memory.
To deepen public understanding of the historical and cultural significance of the Grand Canal (Beijing section) and the cultural resources along its route, and to continue its historical lineage while laying a foundation for living protection and utilization of the Canal, the UNESCO Asia-Pacific World Heritage Training and Research Centre (Beijing) (WHITRAP Beijing), Peking University Public Archaeology and Art Center, and Beijing Weiming Cultural Relics and Museum Science and Technology Co., Ltd. have jointly launched the Grand Canal (Beijing Section) Cultural Map Co-Creation Plan.
Previous activity review:
Update | Recruitment: Grand Canal (Beijing Section) Heritage Monitoring Public Participation Activity
Review | Grand Canal (Beijing Section) Heritage Monitoring Public Participation Activity Successfully Launched
Review | Midterm Exchange Meeting of the Grand Canal (Beijing Section) Heritage Monitoring Public Participation Activity Successfully Held
Basic situation of the Grand Canal (Beijing section) cultural belt construction and resources
The history of the Grand Canal in Beijing can be traced back to the Yongji Canal excavated in 608 CE (the 4th year of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, Daye era). During the Yuan Dynasty, Guo Shoujing implemented the Tonghui River water source and navigation engineering, achieving the full connection of the Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal from Hangzhou to Dadu. The Ming and Qing dynasties largely followed the Yuan canal route, until grain transport by canal ceased in 1905 (31st year of Guangxu reign).
The Beijing section of the Grand Canal uses springs such as Baifu Spring and Jade Spring Mountain as its water source, flowing into Wengshan Lake (today’s Kunming Lake in the Summer Palace), passing through the Chang River, entering Jishuitan (today’s Shichahai) via the Jade River (ancient course), then the Tonghui River, and finally merging into the North Canal. It spans seven districts: Changping, Haidian, Xicheng, Dongcheng, Chaoyang, Shunyi, and Tongzhou.
Along the route, cultural heritage sites are of high grade, densely distributed, and diverse in type. The river and lake systems maintain strong continuity, preserving many bridge, sluice, and dock remains, as well as ancient warehouses, buildings, and archaeological sites related to the Grand Canal.
In recent years, the cultural belt construction of the Grand Canal (Beijing section) has achieved substantial progress: 40 tangible cultural heritage sites and 43 intangible cultural heritage items along the route have been identified; key monuments such as Dongbujiaoqiao Bridge, Baliqiao Bridge, and the Relic Pagoda of Burning Lamp Buddha have been restored; systematic research on the cultural lineage of the Canal cultural belt has been conducted, producing cultural works themed on the Grand Canal; river cruise routes have been opened along the South and North Tonghui Rivers; a series of riverside greenways and waterfront platforms have been built, along with cultural parks such as the Yuhe River Ruins Park, Tonghui River Qingfeng Park, and Grand Canal Forest Park; and protection and development of Tongzhou Ancient City and Zhangjiawan Ancient Town are being actively promoted.
Introduction to Cultural Mapping
Since the 1960s, Cultural Mapping has been applied in planning work and has gradually become an effective tool in heritage protection over the past 30 years. Due to its significant role in protecting cultural diversity and related issues, it has been recognized by UNESCO.
It is a tool and method for collecting, recording, analyzing, integrating, and evaluating information, aiming to describe cultural resources, networks, operational mechanisms, and usage patterns related to a specific area or group of people. It can also serve as a preliminary step in heritage value assessment and the formulation of protection and management policies.
The main development period of cultural mapping has been from 2006 to the present. In 2006, UNESCO issued its first official document on cultural mapping—the Havana Declaration—marking its recognition in heritage protection. Since then, related theoretical research and practical cases have expanded globally, including Africa, North America, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.
Countries such as Canada, the Philippines, and Malaysia have published toolkits and guides for cultural mapping practice, emphasizing the importance of public and stakeholder participation in cultural mapping and heritage policy-making processes.
Survey scope and content
This Cultural Map Co-Creation Plan will focus on cultural heritage along the Grand Canal (Beijing section), with the seven administrative districts along the cultural belt as the spatial scope. The survey areas are divided into three regions according to the distribution of cultural resources:
Region 1: Changping District, Haidian District, Xicheng District
Region 2: Dongcheng District, Chaoyang District
Region 3: Shunyi District, Tongzhou District
Figure: Distribution of cultural heritage along the Grand Canal (Beijing section)
The survey focuses on five themes related to the Grand Canal: cultural heritage, public cultural spaces, cultural consumption venues, cultural organizations, and cultural figures. The corresponding cultural resource elements under each theme are shown below:
The main form of output during the survey phase will be information collection forms. Collected materials may include, but are not limited to, text, maps, charts, images (historical and current), and satellite imagery.
Activity process and schedule
Recruitment information
Recruitment target
The project is now open to individuals from all sectors who are interested in the Grand Canal (Beijing section) Cultural Map Co-Creation Plan and are committed to the protection and utilization of the Grand Canal. The roles and responsibilities are as follows:
1.Liaison and Operations Team
Specific responsibilities:
1.Contact relevant departments and institutions to obtain necessary permissions and support
2.Organize participants into groups and announce groupings, coordinate communication and collaboration among groups
3.Coordinate and prepare offline event venues (training and evaluation sessions)
4.Liaise with review experts and instructors
5.Set up venues and host activities
6.Ensure smooth implementation of activities and efficient use of resources
7.Publicity Team
Specific responsibilities:
1.Coordinate and collect materials provided by the research team
2.Produce short videos, visual texts, and other new media content
3.Operate media platforms such as Weibo, Xiaohongshu, Douyin, Video Accounts, Bilibili, Instagram, etc.
4.Monitor publicity impact and participation numbers, and conduct necessary data analysis
5.Research Team
The research team consists of university student volunteers, with several research advisors invited according to different cultural resource types to provide explanations and guidance during the process.
Specific responsibilities:
1.Conduct field surveys and data collection related to the Grand Canal
2.Assist the planning team in defining cultural map elements and content
3.Collect historical, cultural, scientific, and artistic materials, and produce photo and video resources for use by the mapping and publicity teams
4.Produce short videos and write scripts for them
5.Artistic Design Team
Specific responsibilities:
1.Based on the framework provided by the planning team, organize materials collected by the research team and create visual maps
2.Design and refine layout and aesthetics to ensure readability and visual quality
3.Adjust map size and format and provide output files to the IT team
4.Provide visual assets for UI development
5.IT Team
Specific responsibilities:
1.Develop and implement the cultural map based on requirements from planning and design teams
2.Design and build an online platform or application for the cultural map
3.Integrate and visualize map data
4.Ensure system stability and user experience optimization
5.Support publicity-related work
Application deadline
8:00 PM (Beijing time), Thursday, July 20, 2023
Application method
(1) Those who wish to join the Liaison & Operations Team, Publicity Team, Artistic Design Team, or IT Team should click “Read the original article,” download the “Grand Canal Cultural Map Volunteer Application Form,” complete it, name the file “Grand Canal + Volunteer + Name,” and send it to whitrapbj@126.com by email.
(2) Those who wish to join the Research Team must form groups of at least two people. The group leader should click “Read the original article,” download the “Grand Canal Cultural Map Research Team Application Form,” complete it, name the file “Grand Canal + Research Team + Group Leader Name,” and send it to whitrapbj@126.com by email. Groups will be selected and adjusted based on research themes and assigned regions.
After selection, applicants will be added to a WeChat group and receive detailed instructions and notes. Please pay attention to friend requests. We welcome your participation.
Benefits
1.Face-to-face exchange with Grand Canal cultural scholars and experts through participation in the cultural mapping workshop.
2.Research teams will have access to all collected datasets.
3.Participants will be credited as contributors to the Grand Canal (Beijing section) Cultural Map Co-Creation Plan and receive certification issued by WHITRAP Beijing.
Project support
This activity is jointly initiated and organized by WHITRAP Beijing, Peking University Public Archaeology and Art Center, and Beijing Weiming Cultural Relics and Museum Science and Technology Co., Ltd.
Edited by: Zheng Zhaoqi, Piao Lina
Reviewed by: Li Guanghan, Wang Siyu
Final review: Shen Ruiwen, Zhang Jianwei
