The Canal Walk initiative, inspired by China’s Grand Canal, has become a bridge for international youth communication in the world’s canal cities. 

A group of young representatives and scholars from more than 10 foreign countries had great fun collecting water samples from the Grand Canal in Sanwan Park, Yangzhou City, east China’s Jiangsu Province, on June 3, 2025.

The samples were poured into a “pot of civilization,” which symbolized the integration of cultures. In addition to the canal, the young people also visited places such as Yangzhou University, China Grand Canal Museum, and the Slender West Lake, learning the culture of the Grand Canal and the canal city of Yangzhou.

Since it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014, the Grand Canal has become a popular scenic spot to explore Chinese civilization. The organizer of the youth group tour, Canal Walk Organizing Committee for World Canal Cities, has previously promoted exchanges between Chinese and foreign youth and facilitated the exploration, utilization, and cooperation of resources in canal cities across the world. It has also boosted global cultural exchanges and mutual learning through canals, creating a shared conception and joint action that transcend national boundaries.

Cheng Hao (first from left) introduces the Zhejiang East Canal Museum to foreigners during an international volunteer service activity in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, on September 22, 2024.

A Medium of International Communication

“I now believe that cultural exchange can not only rely on diplomacy or organizations, but also through local events. Canal cities, especially in China and South Asia, have always been the center of communication,” said a student from Bangladesh. She also said that in spite of transportation channels, canals are also carriers of language, memory, and identity. “In Chinese cities like Suzhou and Hangzhou, waterways connect people. The dialects, handicrafts, and songs are local cultures and living legacies,” the student added.

The global value of the canals makes it a unique medium for international communication. Cheng Hao, president of the Canal Walk Action Committee, said that the canal constitutes a huge ecosystem – a lifestyle based on the canal. “Where there are canals, there are ships, bridges, ports, and cities. More than 500 canals in the world nourish over 3,300 cities. Many people are no strangers to canals,” said Cheng. “The Grand Canal is like the Internet of ancient China. It was related with various fields, including water conservancy, science and technology, culture, sustainable development, and national identity, which meet the interests of most people.”

Canal Walk is a reflection of transforming the 3,200-kilometer-long Grand Canal into an exchange bridge between Chinese and other countries.

In December 2024, many Chinese and foreign young people from Suzhou University visited Pingwang, an ancient canal town in Suzhou City. Their outings included tasting the famous Pingwang sauce and learning about its production process in a sauce culture park. An American student said walking in Pingwang is like living in a Chinese ink-wash painting or in a black-and-white film. Another Indian student praised the lasting aftertaste of the sauce, saying it was as mesmerizing as the Grand Canal.

The Canal Walk enables Chinese and international young people to learn about China’s ancient civilization as they wander through the alleys. Cheng mentioned that through immersive walking, visitors can find the influence of the canal on people and the city. “This is something that people barely notice, but leaves the deepest emotional impression,” Cheng pointed out.

At the World Canal Congress held in Bydgoszcz, Poland, in 2024, Cheng launched the Canal Walk initiative, which attracted widespread attention. Sharon Leighton, president of the Inland Waterways International (IWI), said that IWI pays close attention to the relationship between teenagers and canals, and the initiative provides a new inspiration for canal cities around the world. Łukasz Krupa, deputy mayor of Bydgoszcz, hoped that Bydgoszcz would become a destination for Canal Walk to promote more exchanges between Chinese and Polish cities.

Setting off from Yangzhou, the origin of the Grand Canal, the Canal Walk will pass through Suzhou, Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Ningbo, Berlin, Brussel, and Venice, and then finally return to Yangzhou. The long journey aims to deepen dialogues between Chinese and foreign canal cities.

Five foreign volunteers perform a canal-themed drama at the Youth Dialogue on Canal Civilization held in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, on September 22, 2024.

A Carrier of Chinese Stories

The young people’s curiosity, communication skills, and international views have made the canal a bridge for mutual exchanges, imbuing the ancient canal with new energy. The concept of “Canal+” has integrated fields such as art, intangible cultural heritage, and international exchanges. The Grand Canal has become an encyclopedia about the profound Chinese culture for domestic and foreign visitors to discover.

At the 29th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) hosted in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2024, Huang Tianming, a Chinese farmer from Shaoxing in east China’s Zhejiang Province, gave a talk about his family stories of protecting ancient torreya trees and the development of local industrial chains.

“Although he spoke about his personal experience, the international community learned a story about how the ordinary Chinese people live with nature in harmony,” Cheng said. Huang’s story was reported by nearly 30 foreign mainstream media outlets. In fact, the global spread of Huang’s story can be traced back to a regular volunteer service at Canal Walk.

Last September, over 40 foreigners from more than 20 countries and regions visited the ancient torreya tree grove at Kuaiji Mountain in Shaoxing to experience the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature along the Grand Canal. Cheng said the group all realized that ordinary Chinese people care about sustainable development. The group members adopted trees and tied signs with their names, countries, and blessings to their trees.

“The torreya trees are spectacular. The oldest one is 1,600 years old. They have witnessed thousands of years of Shaoxing’s history,” said a visitor from Equatorial Guinea. “I want to bring the torreya tree nuts back to my hometown and share them with my family and friends. I will also tell them the story of the Chinese people protecting the ancient trees.” In the letter he wrote to the administrative office of the mountain area a few months later, he said that his family and friends all liked the precious gifts he brought back home, and were also impressed by the stories of how they were protected. He said that he looked forward to visiting his adopted tree soon.

The recognition from young foreigners boosted Huang’s confidence and gave him the idea of sharing his life experiences. “We helped him realize the dream,” Cheng said. “It could not only increase mutual understanding, but the recognition from the world [can] also help people build a stronger sense of self-identity. It is also the value of the Canal Walk.”

In Fuzhou, east China’s Fujian Province, young Chinese and foreign sinologists from over 30 countries visited the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys Tourist Area, exploring well-preserved ancient buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). They also learned about the management system of residential areas in ancient Chinese cities and the life of local people centuries ago.

In Azerbaijan, volunteers picked up garbage and promoted marine protection along the Caspian Sea to call on more people to join the action of protecting the marine ecosystem and jointly safeguard the beautiful ocean.

Since the launch of the Canal Walk initiative, the organizing committee has held a series of international volunteer service projects in countries and cities along the Silk Road, including China’s Beijing, Shanghai, Shaoxing, and Fuzhou, and other Asian countries of Azerbaijan and Cambodia. Tens of thousands of volunteers from more than 50 countries have participated, making a positive social and international impact in promoting the protection of canals and facilitating cultural exchanges between Chinese and foreign young people.

Guests and young people from 13 countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative pose for a group photo at the Guo Shoujing Memorial Hall in Beijing’s Xicheng District, on September 26, 2024.

For the Next Decade

Cheng was born in Jiangsu Province’s Suqian City. It takes five minutes to walk from his home to the Grand Canal. One day during his childhood, as he looked at the irrigated farmland, he realized that it was the canal that fed the people of both banks. He was also impressed by the occasional sounds of boat horns. “As the canal takes the boats to their next destination, I learned the meaning of the connection between two places.”

During his college years at Yangzhou University, Cheng cycled over 1,000 kilometers along the route of the Grand Canal of the Sui and Tang dynasties (581-907) to Xi’an, central China’s Shaanxi Province. During this journey, he learned about the coexistence of the canal and the cities it connects and realized the profound meaning of the Grand Canal to the country.

In 2015, Cheng and his young son embarked on their annual one-month walking trip, following the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, and the border lines. Cheng called it a grand tour for father and son to bond. In Cheng’s view, only by truly traversing the vast lands can children be inspired to have broad minds and lofty dreams. The father-son grand tour is a reflection of his view, and so is the upgraded version of the Canal Walk.

During the Canal Walk, Cheng heard about how many foreign young people were inspired by the canal. Some of them wanted to organize an exchange activity, write a canal story, and set up a cultural innovation art studio. Many participants felt that the Grand Canal opened an interesting window to understand and explore China.

A French youth painted an oil painting of the East Zhejiang Canal Museum in Shaoxing. Other visitors from Indonesia, Egypt, and Russia created canal-themed dramas and songs, expressing their expectations for more Chinese and foreign youth to engage in exchanges and dialogues for mutual learning among civilizations through the canal.

In January 2024, Chinese President Xi Jinping replied to a letter from representatives of Kenyan students and alumni at Beijing Jiaotong University, encouraging them to continue contributing to the friendship between China and Kenya and the building of a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future. The two Kenyan students were excited when they talked about the reply. They also said that the canal trip is an important opportunity to deepen understanding and enhance friendship. They hoped that more young people could take the opportunity to take part in such activities and contribute their energy to building a community with a shared future for humankind.

“When people walk in the bustling life scenes along both banks of the canal, they may develop an interest in a local delicacy, be deeply impressed by the lifestyle, or hope to live in a specific way,” said Cheng. He also said that Canal Walk does not focus on grand narratives, but enables more foreigners to see the most ordinary lives of Chinese people. “Only through such an experience can people learn the Chinese stories in a relaxed way, thus will be willing to listen, reach understanding, and embrace a cultural identity,” he stressed.

In addition to exchange, dialogues, and international volunteer services on the canal civilization, the Canal Walk initiative has also set up various activities such as marathons and rowing. In addition, it has built urban centers that facilitate exchanges in Suzhou and Yangzhou. Preparations are also underway in Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Beijing and other cities. To facilitate access to the Grand Canal, the organizer also built a digital cloud platform for the Grand Canal. The English version will be launched to help the world learn about China’s canal culture.

Cheng said that youth are not only the beneficiaries of urban services but also the new force to reciprocate the city. The growth needs of teenagers can bring possibilities to canal cities. Looking forward to the next decade, Cheng hoped that the 35 canal cities in China could amplify their global influence in a bid to foster cross-cultural understanding and resonance.