December 26th, 2011 
Tushar Mathur Have you ever found yourself wondering why there are canals in Venice and Panama? If the answer’s yes, read on! This article looks at the history of five canals, and answers why they were built.
China, The Grand Canal
The Grand Canal in China is both the oldest and longest mad-made canal in the world, and it is still in use today. The areas of the canal that we still see were created by the Sui Dynasty in the 6th century and its primary use has always been the transportation of grain to the capital, Beijing.
Today the Canal is divided into seven sections, and only the section between Hangzhou and Jining can be navigated. China has now launched a campaign to get the Canal on to the United Nation’s list of world heritage sites.
Egypt, Suez Canal
The Suez Canal took ten years to build and was opened in 1869 as a means of transporting goods between Europe and Asia without having to travel around the bottom of Africa. This shortens each trip by more than 9,500 km, and cuts the average modern day journey from 20 days to just 13 hours. Because of this the canal has been appropriately nicknamed the “the Highway to India”.
Venice, Grand Canal
Venice is home to the world’s most famous canal network. It is thought that the Grand Canal follows the course of an ancient river, an area that was inhabited in the pre-roman era by the Adriatic Veneti who mainly earned a living through fishing and commerce. The canal network became a key part of the city’s trading power and Venice went on to establish itself as Europe’s most prosperous city in the 13th century.
Venice’s canal network is still hugely important to the city today, as a means of attracting tourists. There are no cars on the Island, so the only ways to travel are by boat or on foot.
Panama Canal
When the United States completed the Panama Canal in 1914 not only did they create a new waterway but a new country, as Panama had to be separated from Colombia. The canal is 48 miles long and was built to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Prior to this ships had to sail around the bottom of South America, a longer and more dangerous route. Today more than 14,000 ships use the canal each year.
Las Vegas, Grand Canal
You might be wondering what a Canal is doing in the middle of the Nevada Desert? Well it’s not your ordinary canal, and is purely a tourist attraction. It is a feature of the Venetian hotel, a 1.5 billion dollar complex that opened in 1999. It runs through the inside of the hotel and is a replica of the Grand Canal in Venice. It offers visitors an “authentic” Venetian gondola ride through the hotels replica streets featuring, bridges, balconies, shops and cafes that are all based on the original architectural features of the romantic Italian city.
Colin Peters loves to write about holiday and travel subjects for the personalised gifts retailer Find Me A Gift.
