Now that some maintenance work has finished on a part of the Grand Canal in Hebei province and an advanced monitoring system expected to be completed by the end of June, preparation for the Grand Canal application for World Heritage is close and it is ready for an inspection team from UNESCO, in June, the head of the Hebei Relics Bureau, Zhang Lifang, has said.

Hebei holds a key part of the canal that has been preserved, providing a true picture of what it was like when it was built. To keep the original structure of the old dikes, the maintenance team used traditional methods - adding sticky rice to the lime and earth used - to re-build the rammed earth dam, at Huajiakou, Zhang explained.

The Grand Canal was started in 486 BC, making is the oldest and longest canal still in service in the world. It traverses eight provinces and municipalities in northern and eastern China, including the cities of Beijing and Tianjin, and Hebei, Shandong and Zhejiang provinces. The application for World Heritage status involves 35 cities’ participation, and the application process will last for months till the end of June. The cities along the canal are building exhibition sites to show the traditional culture and its relation to the canal. At the same time, environmental protection measures alongside the channel and other key spots will be finished before the UNESCO and State inspection.