jan 1, 605 - The Completion of the Grand Canal

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Completed under the Sui Dynasty (Sui Yangdi), the grand canal used existing canals, but linked them into a main network that allowed the easy transportation of goods all across China. The canal was important because Chinese rivers generally flow East to West, so an artificial waterway was needed to transport food from the fertile Yangzi River Valley to other parts of the empire. The grand canal led to the collapse of Sui rule because of the forced labor used in its construction.

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