The Sui emperor Yang, working with millions of conscripted labourers, linked and enlarged existing waterways between 605 and 609 to create the Grand Canal, connecting the Yellow River in the north with the Yangtze valley and Hangzhou in the south. Later extended to Beijing, it reached some 1,800 km and is the longest artificial waterway in the world. It moved rice to the capital and bound together the north and south of China. The cost in lives and taxes helped bring down the Sui dynasty in 618. The canal is still partly used today.
Before and after
- from 602 CE to 628 CEByzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628
- 603 CEBirth of Mu'awiya I
- 27 July 604 CEBirth of Fatima
- 607 CEConstruction of Hōryū-ji Temple
- 609 CEThe Grand Canal of China is completed
- 614 CEBirth of Aisha
- from April 614 CE to May 614 CESasanian conquest of Jerusalem
- from 618 CE to 907 CETang dynasty
- from 622 CE to 750 CEMuslim conquests
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The era
This moment belongs to the Medieval world (500 CE to 1500 CE), kingdoms, faiths and trade routes. You can also browse everything in the 7th century.