Music, dance and food meet at Grand Canal

On the banks of the Grand Canal in Beijing, the ancient waterway has taken on a new role: a stage for music and dance, a meeting place for cultures, and a gateway for visitors exploring the city.

The fourth Beijing International Canal Arts Fest opened on Sept 24 in Tongzhou district, bringing together performers, artists, food, and cultural brands from China and around the world. The event ran through Sept 27 and coincided with the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday on Sept 25, and used the canal as a common thread connecting cities, cultures and people.

The Grand Canal, with a history of more than 2,500 years, is the world's oldest and longest artificial waterway system, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2014.

This year's festival invited renowned canal-side cities from 13 countries, with 14 artistic troupes presenting 22 performances, according to Wang Hairu, director of the Beijing Overseas Cultural Exchange Center.

The participating waterways included Germany's Dortmund-Ems Canal, Romania's Danube-Black Sea Canal and New Zealand's Tekapo Canal, offering a reminder that waterways have long served not only as routes for trade and transport, but also as places where different cultures meet.

At the opening ceremony, which took place at the Tongzhou section of the Grand Canal, nearly 10,000 people gathered to watch performances that moved between Chinese traditions and international sounds.

For August Borg, counselor for press affairs at the embassy of Sweden in China, the attraction of canals lies in the slower pace and different perspectives they offer.

"We have Chinese and European people coming to the canal and experiencing a kind of slow and easy way to see the Swedish landscape and nature," Borg said. He suggested that the Grand Canal in China could similarly provide a scenic way for visitors to experience the area.

That idea of seeing a place from its waterway was central to the festival, which extended beyond the main stage to the canal itself.

For the first time, the festival created an on-water stage. Performances were also held at locations including the east and west banks of the canal.

"The canals are flowing vessels of civilization and a universal language across the world," said Chen Lingchun, secretary-general of the World Historic and Cultural Canal Cities Cooperation Organization.

Chen said the festival served as a window for cultural exchange among canal cities worldwide, allowing more cities to learn about China's Grand Canal, as well as Beijing.

That exchange continued at the festival's food market, where more than 60 food and cultural brands set up stalls along the waterfront.

The festival was also linked closely with tourism. Ten Grand Canal-themed routes are being introduced through Beijing's international tourism network in 26 countries and regions, reaching more than 2,000 overseas travel agencies.

Since its launch in 2018, the Beijing International Canal Arts Fest has sought to explore new ways to protect, pass on and make use of the cultural heritage of the Grand Canal.