The Ling Canal

The Ling Canal was built on the orders of the first Emperor of China so as to connect the water systems of the Yangtse River and Pearl River in order to transport men and supplies. This allowed his troops to pacify the southern states and thereby contune the unification of China. Amazingly the canal still functions as designed, though it is now  a tourist attraction and not a trade route.

The Ling Canal is situated 66 kilomteres to the north of Guilin and flows through the town of Xingan. It begins at a V-shaped weir which is designed to push just enough water (approximately 30%) down through the canals. Actually there are two, one on either side of the river. This is necessary to allow excess water to drain off and back into the main river rather than flood the section of canal that connects the two rivers.

This section, the Southern Canal is 34 kilometres long. This is far longer than the distance between the two rivers but necessary to maintain sufficient height along the route. It some places the water flowing in different directions is even just 20 metres apart.

Originally there were a series of gates (or chutes) which could be closed to stop the flow of water through the canal and allow easier prgress for the boats coming upstream. These no longer exist.

A visit to the site begins with a visit to the temples honouring the generals that designed and completed this project. Most visitors then head off to the V-shaped dam/weir or Ploughshare as it is called locally. The size of this is impressive given its age.

An option that is highly recommended is then to take a boat down stream to Xingan town. Poled along, with a guide playing pieces on a zither, makes for peaceful and effortless progress. You can, of course, just walk.

Xingan, viewd from the canal, is an interesting little place with plenty of local colour. The pace of life here is about as fast as the canal, which makes a great contrast with bustling Guilin.

There is a couple of tourist attraction: a rather poor construction of a fort, complete with a bronxe Qin Shi Huang (the first emperor), looking sternly down (there's no need to go inside) and a museum dedicated to the Fyling Tigers. Unfortunately that was closed when we were there so no comment on its suitability.