Silk Road, Grand Canal listed as World Heritage

China’s Grand Canal, and the Silk Road in China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgizstan have been added the World Heritage list. The decision was announced at the 38th session of UNESCO’s World Heritage committee in Doha, Qatar.

The Grand Canal dates back 2,400 years. With a length of 1,794 kilometers, it’s the longest man-made waterway in the world. And it is still in use.

The heritage site consists of five sections of the Grand Canal across six provinces and two municipalities in China, linking Hangzhou to the capital, Beijing.

The Silk Road was jointly submitted by China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It’s world famous as a corridor for trade and cultural transmission between Asia and Europe dating back to 2,000 years.