The Grand Canal, as famous as the great wall, is the longest man-made river in the world. It starts from Beijing in the north to Hangzhou in the south, altogether 1,800km long, and was constructed in Sui Dynasty which was 1,300 years ago. It played a very important role in transportation in the history of China, sense be called “the life-blood of Chinese people.”

Wuxi took the lead in launching the Grand Canal tour. The Grand Canal’s Wuxi section runs 40km right through the heart of the city’s old part and makes an inviting tourist attraction.

Along the canal, one could also see some old architecture that used to be the earliest textile and flour mills and old-style private banking firms, which reminded the visitor of the city’s fairly recent past as a cradle of China’s national capitalism as well as her nickname: Miniature Shanghai.

The old town of wuxi has quite a few canal areas that are outstandingly rich in the local colors, one of them is Nanchang Street Canal Area. This section of the canal is referred to as an alley-of-water that has a special charm of its own: flanked by timeworn living houses on both banks. Some of them already hundreds years old, and spanned by old-world looking bridges, it makes a typical spectacle of the South-of-the-Yangtze Area known as Households lining flowing rivers spanned by little bridges.
There are many songs about the great beauty of the ancient Qingming Bridge & the old town. The best preserved bridge over the Wuxi Grand Canal. It was built more than
400 years ago during the early years of the Ming Dynasty. Along the Canal, there are many ancient buildings which were built hundreds of years ago during the Sui and Qing Dynasties, and they formed the old town of Wuxi. It's as good a place as any to study the culture of that period.
For decades, the Wuxi section of the Grand Canal has gradually developed into a popular tourist destination. Now it attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, with the Qingming Bridge and the old town being the hottest scenic spot in the area.
Just a stone's throw from the Qingming Bridge, in a house that is more than 100 years old, lives Wu Fuchang, the volunteer guide who has provided his services to over 4000 foreign visitors, resulting in the local people giving him the title of "Non-Governmental Ambassador".
"When foreign friends visit the Qingming Bridge, what they are most interested in is the everyday life of the local people. They ask me questions about my life, and often comment that it is very good."says Wu Fuchang.
Seventy-eight year old Wu Fuchang has been living by the thousand year old canal since he was born. He has deep feelings about the place, and really appreciates the rich cultural background of he canal.
"At my home, foreign visitors would also ask questions about the ancient canal. I tell them of its history, as well as of the rich traditional culture of China, which they appreciate very much."
To let foreign visitors get a better understanding of traditional Chinese culture, he has also set his house up to look like a small museum. There is a fifty-year-old bed, and other old-style furniture. In his home, a visitor can see how almost anything was done in ancient China, from a baby's birth to a wedding ceremony, to a person's funeral.
"In the past ten years, I have greeted more than 4,000 foreign friends, from the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Australia and so on. I told them all about Wuxi and China."
Wu Fuchang has become good friends with many foreign visitors, and keeps in constant contact with some of them.
"After my foreign friends went back, they often sent me gifts, such as books and photos. When they come back to China, they visit me again. In 2001, one friend visited my house four times."
Wu Fuchang says that spring is the busiest season for him, when the Grand Canal is at its most attractive with beautiful scenery and pleasant weather. Sometimes he receives as many as three to four groups of visitors a day.