Sui-Tang Grand Canal

Timeline

1. 584Daxing (Chang'an) to Tongguan · ShaanxiEmperor Wen of Sui ordered Yuwen Kai to dig the Guangtong Canal, diverting the Wei River eastward through Guanzhong into the Yellow River, improving grain transport to the capital; it was known as the Fumin Canal and laid the Guanzhong section foundation of the Sui-Tang canal system.
2. 587Shanyang (present-day Huai'an) to the Yangtze River · JiangsuEmperor Wen dug the Shanyang Du, connecting the Huai and Yangtze rivers and opening a waterway between Huainan and Jiangnan, providing the crucial middle section for Emperor Yang's later large-scale north-south canal network.
3. 589Luoyang to Yangzhou · ChinaAfter Sui destroyed Chen and unified north and south, the empire began planning a canal network linking the Yellow, Huai, and Yangtze rivers, integrating the Guanzhong Guangtong Canal, the Jiang-Huai Shanyang Du, and old Central Plains canals, laying the planning foundation for subsequent large-scale excavation.
4. 600Zhuojun to Yuhang · ChinaBy the end of the 6th century, the Guangtong Canal and Shanyang Du dug by Emperor Wen, together with post-unification canal planning, had initially linked water transport between Guanzhong and Jiang-Huai, laying the foundation for Emperor Yang's expansion of the Tongji and Yongji canals into the Sui-Tang Grand Canal.