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Part of the Great Canal runs through Tongxiang. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Tongxiang, a county-level city administered by Jiaxing in East China's Zhejiang province, has been prospering from the Great Canal, 41.8 kilometers of which run through the city.

Ancient towns such as Wuzhen, Puyuan, Chongfu, and Shimen, were established on both sides of the Great Canal in ancient times.

Home to the Luojiajiao ruins, the location of one of the world's earliest paddy fields, Shimen town has an agricultural industry centered on Hangzhou white chrysanthemum, grain and oil, fruit, vegetable and edible mushrooms.

The textile and leather industries in Chongfu date back 1,000 years and its textile and leather products are now sold around the world. Meanwhile, Puyuan, despite not having a sheep-raising tradition, has emerged as the nation's biggest wool clothing production hub.

Ships operate on the Tongxiang section of the Great Canal. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

As the permanent site of the World Internet Conference, Wuzhen is focused on the digital economy. In September, the only large-scale supercomputing center in Zhejiang started operating in the town.

The Great Canal has also nurtured a silk weaving culture in Tongxiang, which has been promoting the construction of a provincial silk weaving culture protection zone and attracted large numbers of silk weaving enthusiasts.

The Tongxiang section of the Great Canal under the light of sunset. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

In addition, the Qingming Festival temple fair in Wuzhen and a dragon boat race in Chongfu have become part of the Great Canal culture in Tongxiang.

Tongxiang will continue making full use of the Great Canal as a world cultural heritage site to explore special local culture and promote integrated development while assuming the responsibility to protect and inherit Great Canal culture.