Where culture flows

The Grand Canal's heritage has prompted over 80 sites to seek a shared UNESCO listing. Wang Qian follows the ancient passageway's course into the future.

Xu Deguang still often reminisces about chanting songs to lead boatmen as they hauled barges through dangerous shoals and rapids along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

The 97-year-old is believed to be the only living inheritor of haozi, a type of folk music sung to synchronize boatmen in Zaozhuang city in southwestern Shandong province, where a significant section of the canal still functions.