The power of Chinese emperors rose and fell with their control of the Grand Canal. Today, this waterway is shorter than it was once, it is still the longest man-made river in the world. （important）, the Grand Canal continues to provide a vital cultural and economic link for modern China.
The original Canal system began around the year 605, China's emperor Yang realized that he needed a better way to move food and feed his army, so the emperor ordered the construction of the first section of the Grand Canal, （connect） those existing canals, lakes and rivers.
For more than a thousand years, goods （transport） along the Grand Canal. Even today the country's watery highway plays an important economic role in China. Boats continue to carry tons of coal, food and other goods Hangzhou and Jining. However, local governments eager to increase （tour） and city development have torn down almost all of the older canal-side buildings. In 2005 a group of citizens proposed that the historic Grand Canal be made UNESCO world heritage site, hoping this status would protect both the waterway and the architecture around it. With UNESCO status officially （grant） in 2014, the world's greatest engineering accomplishments continue to link north and south China for （century） to come.
