Take a long boat ride

This is not a river. It is a canal. A river is natural. A canal is made by people. This is the longest canal in the world. It is called the Grand Canal and it passes through Hangzhou, where I took this picture, nor far from where I am staying.

The Grand Canal was started about 2,500 years ago. It wasn't finished until about 700 years ago. I guess it is never really finished because if they don't keep dredging it, it becomes blocked. So, at one time it was about 1,800 kilometres long. If you can find Beijing and Hangzhou in your atlas, boats could travel from one to the other. At the moment boats can travel along it for 1,100 kilometres.

When it was first built there were no cars and travelling by road was very slow. The canal was the fastest way to travel from one part of China to another. China is a very big country. If you come and visit before I leave, maybe we could take a long boat ride.

love from your Grandpa