Liyunhe (Li Canal) Cultural Corridor

The Liyunhe (Li Canal) Cultural Corridor in Huai'an, East China's Jiangsu province, brims with hustle and bustle on summer evenings.

Residents and tourists come here, strolling along the bank, shopping at the night market to find local snacks and handicrafts, enjoying the iconic Huaiyang cuisine at restaurants overlooking the canal, or going on a boat ride on Liyunhe. With colorful lighting teasing reflections of trees and ancient-style architecture along the banks, the 30-minute ride allows tourists to fully take in the canal's nighttime beauty.

A vital section of the Grand Canal, Liyunhe was known as Qingjiangpu during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). Boat riders can have a close-up view of the Qingjiang Sluice, one of the 58 heritage sites dotted on the 3,200-kilometer Grand Canal, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.

Constructed in the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the sluice, measuring 11.5 meters high and 7.3 meters wide, is the oldest and best-preserved boat lock on the Grand Canal. It was for preventing the backflow of the Yellow River and the silting up of the waterway.