Protecting our heritage

How to preserve the historical integrity of China's Grand Canal, the world's oldest and longest canal, could well be a race against time and economic development.

The 2,400-year-old waterway stretching from Beijing to Hangzhou is currently on the central government's agenda for nomination to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Sites. If it makes it to the list, hopefully China's 2006 law providing for proper management of its UNESCO sites will protect the canal from being destroyed in the name of real estate and tourism development. But this is no guarantee.

Shan Jixiang, director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said on Sunday that an investigation into the cultural relics along the waterway is under way, and so is the drafting of a national plan for the canal's protection.