A'boat time! New cruise routes to loop around the Grand Canal

A touring boat departs from the boarding pier of Nanchan Temple in Wuxi, Jiangsu province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Visitors to Wuxi will soon be able to see the city's most historic streets from a new perspective, as a local travel company will begin running boat cruises down the ancient Grand Canal from May 12.

The Wuxi-based Jiangnan Ancient Canal Tourism Company will roll out two new routes carrying visitors in a loop around the picturesque traditional streets in central Wuxi. The trip will take approximately two hours, according to the company.

One of the wonders of ancient China, the magnificent Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal stretches more than 1,500 kilometers across nearly half the country.

For centuries, the canal was the main economic artery connecting North and South China, and the Wuxi section of the waterway still bears much of this rich heritage. Ancient kilns, dwellings, streets, bridges, temples, towers, lanes and wharfs built during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) line both sides of the canal, embodying the history of the East China city.