In the thirteenth century, an Italian merchant and explorer named Marco Polo arrived in China. He was blown away by an artificial river and wrote in his famous book The Travels, “This water transport route is made up of many rivers, lakes, as well as a wide and deep canal. According to the order of the Great Khan (Genghis Khan), the canal was excavated to connect major rivers. Thus, ships would travel directly from the south to Khanbaliq (old capital) in the north instead of taking the sea route. This is a truly grand project in history. The canal is of incredible length and links the north and the south nationwide. What matters the most is that the canal brings countless benefits to the people of many cities along its banks. Solid, wide embankments were built on both riverbanks, greatly facilitating the land transport” (The Travels of Marco Polo, Fujian Science & Technology Publishing House, 1981 Edition).