Ling Canal in Xing'an County, Guilin, Guangxi is one of the most complete ancient water conservancy projects in my country. Time goes by and the pursuit of dreams continues. I have been dealing with Lingqu for decades. Even though I have retired for 20 years this year, I still think about Lingqu all day long.
I still remember when I was a child, I often fished and caught shrimps in Lingqu Canal and listened to the stories of Lingqu Canal told by my seniors. When I was in school, in order to study Lingqu, I often went to the school library with small cards to copy the descriptions of Lingqu in ancient books. When I got to work, I devoted a lot of time and energy to studying Lingqu, and gained a lot.
In recent years, more and more people are paying attention to Lingqu. Many people ask: What is the value of Lingqu? I can't finish what I want to say in a few days and nights: it connects the Xiangjiang River and Lijiang River and is one of the oldest canals in the world; it is an important part of the Maritime Silk Road; it has both water transportation and irrigation Function, it still plays the role of farmland irrigation, flood drainage and flood discharge... Protecting the historic Ling Canal can better understand the history and inspire the present, which is very valuable.
(This is Lingqu, Xing'an County, Guangxi Province (drone photo) taken on April 9. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhou Hua)
The premise of inheritance is protection. In order to protect the Lingqu Canal, in recent years, Xing'an County has banned mining and quarrying on both sides of the Ling Canal, improved sewage treatment, cleaned up the Ling Canal garbage, and protected environmental sanitation. Guilin City also regards the protection of the Ling Canal as an important task, continuously strengthens the management of the Ling Canal, deeply explores its research value, and implemented the "Guilin City Ling Canal Protection Regulations" in January this year. Today, the mountains along Lingqu can are greener and the water clearer, and many people actively participate in voluntary tree planting activities on both sides of Lingqu. This thousand-year-old canal is taking on new vitality in the new era.
To make cultural heritage like Lingqu come alive, it must be passed on based on good research. In recent years, relevant parties have organized research on various topics such as the historical changes of the Lingqu channel and water conservancy facilities, and the value of Lingqu in the history of transportation. Together with a group of like-minded researchers, I contribute to more people’s understanding of Lingqu through various forms such as field surveys and reading salons.
With the increase in attention and the growth of the talent team, the protection, utilization and inheritance of Lingqu Canal continue to reach new heights. In 2018, Lingqu, together with Dujiangyan, Jiangxiyan and Changqu, was successfully selected into the fifth batch of World Irrigation Engineering Heritage List. I led the children in the summer camp to build a replica of the Lingqu Dam on the river beach, went to school to participate in the comprehensive study of "Cultural Heritage Around Us", and told college students about the significance of the Lingqu Canal to biodiversity ... I am happy to share it with young people. With this knowledge, I hope more people will be interested in Lingqu Canal and participate in its protection and research.
A life with faith, dreams, struggle and dedication is a meaningful life. Watching Lingqu become better day by day, I feel very happy and satisfied. Green hills and flowing water, I cherish everything now and am willing to do more for Lingqu.
(The author is the former deputy director of the Xing'an County Museum of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, interviewed and compiled by our reporter Zhang Yunhe)
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