what functions did the grand canal serve historically how ha

what functions did the grand canal serve historically? how have the functions changed over time? is the canal still important to china? why?

(this is from business 3840 geography of china class)

answer in paragraphs please.

Solution

The Grand Canal, longest man made canal in China which connects  Yellow River and Yangtze River. In historically the canal was used to transport foodgrain to the capital i.e. Beijing.Soldiers in Northen region also indluged in farming through the water of this canal to make them self-sufficient in grain which they can use in any contingency time.

Gradually the relevance of the canal changed and northen part of the canal remain dry due to flodding of yellow river.Many of the canal sections fell into disrepair, and some parts were returned to flat fields. In 1949 when People Republic of China established, government took the restoration work of the canal. The canal mainly in southern part used heavily for transportation.

In the present time the canal is still important for China because the canal has been used primarily to transport vast amounts of bulk goods such as bricks, gravel, sand, diesel and coal.The canal is upgraded to serve as the Eastern Route of the South-North Water Transfer Project.