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The Grand Canal is the oldest and longest man­made waterway in the world with a history of more than 2£¬500 years£¬1.________ construction started in the Spring and Autumn Period. The 1£¬794­kilometer waterway is about 22 times 2.________ length of the Panama Canal. It is a golden waterway second only to the Yangtze River in China. The Grand Canal runs from Beijing to Zhejiang Province 3.________ (pass) through four provinces and two municipalities and connects five main river systems.

The canal 4.________ (function) as the backbone of the ancient empire's inland communications and trading systems. Grain, salt£¬5.________ (log) and silk were transported along the canal to all directions. Scores of towns along the banks developed, contributing 6.________ (huge) to ancient China's economy. The canal enormously promoted economic interaction and cultural exchange between the north 7.________ the  south, which ensured the country's 8.________ (stable).

In 2014, it was listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. In 2019 China issued a plan 9.________ (construct) national cultural parks for the Grand Canal. Since then, building the Grand Canal national cultural parks 10.________ (recognize) as a key task in the 14th Five­Year Plan. In future, cities along the Grand Canal will form a new cultural belt, green belt and tourism belt.