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Since most of China's major rivers flow from west to east, the Grand Canal running north and south provides an important connector between the Yangtze River valley and northern China, linking five major rivers -- the Haihe River, Yellow River, Huaihe River, Yangtze River and Qiantangjiang River. The canal played a vital role in the administration and defense of the country as a whole and formed the basis of a unified economy.
In the past 1,000 years, the Grand Canal served as the big artery of the south-north transportation in China. Due to sedimentation for a long time, the transportation of the canal was once blocked. After several treatments since 1949, notably the establishment of the Qiantangjiang River, the Grand Canal resumed its transportation. Nowadays, its annual freight volume ranks second in inland water transportation, only next to the Yangtze River.