Shandong revives ancient Grand Canal hydraulic engineering heritage

Along the banks of the Wenhe rivers in Shandong province, two ancient hydraulic engineering wonders once worked together to regulate water in the Grand Canal, guaranteeing the transport of grain for about 500 years. Today, they're examples of how Shandong is moving from preserving canal heritage to bringing it to life.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal reaches its highest point in Nanwang town of Wenshang county, Jining, where the average elevation is 43 meters. Because the canal climbs to this peak and then descends again on either side, water naturally drains away from Nanwang in both directions. During dry seasons in ancient China, there wasn't enough water to keep this elevated stretch navigable, creating a bottleneck for grain transport from the southern part of China to the northern part. The Dawen River, north of Wenshang, with more water and a higher elevation, offered a solution.

In 1411, Song Li, minister of works, adopted a strategy proposed by a local elder to build the dam and channel water from the Dawen River along the Xiaowen River to the Nanwang water ridge, a system that kept the canal navigable for about 500 years.

Today, the dam no longer diverts water for grain transport. "Its current roles are irrigation, flood control, and sand interception. It plays an important role in stabilizing the water of Dongping Lake and the Yellow River downstream," said Ma Haiyan, a guide at the Daicun Dam Museum.

The museum completed a digital upgrade in 2025. Through 3D digital modeling, it presents the wonders of the Daicun Dam, including how it was built on a sandy riverbed with dense cypress piles, and how it was built into three sections to release water according to water level. A sound installation of Dongping chants reproduces the labor songs of dam builders, a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage item in Shandong.

About 70 kilometers south along the Xiaowen River from the Daicun Dam lies the Nanwang water junction, once a comprehensive project integrating water diversion, storage, distribution, and drainage. It received water diverted from the Dawen River via the Xiaowen River and divided it between the canal's northern and southern sections.

This historical project lay buried for a century. In 2008 and 2011, the Shandong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology conducted two excavations, uncovering the water diversion outlet, wooden piles, mortise-and-tenon wooden walls, and inscribed bricks.

"First there was the existing Dragon King Temple complex at the water diversion point, then we found the stone bank, and further ahead was the water diversion outlet," said Huang Dengxin, an associate researcher with the site's protection center in Wenshang.

The temple is dedicated to the Dragon King, a deity believed to control rain, rivers, and water. People built such temples to pray for good weather, safe waterways, and protection from floods.

Now, an archaeological site park has been built where excavated hydraulic components and rubbings of ancient steles educate visitors about ancient water engineering.

An Xianglin contributed to the story.