Ling Qu
灵渠
Ling Qu(Ling Canal)，also called Dou River or Xing’an Canal，was an ancient canal that connected the Yangtze River system and Pearl River system. ling Qu，located in the current Xing’an County in Southwest China’s Guan-gxi Zhuang Autonomous Region，was the earliest canal with sluice gate in the world.
灵渠是中国沟通长江水系和珠江水系的古运河。又名陡河、兴安运河，在今广西壮族自治区兴安县境内。灵渠是世界最早的有闸运河。
The canal was dug in 219BC at the order of Din Shihuang(the First Emperor of China)，to facilitate the transportation of grain for the military after he sent his troops south to conquer the territory south of the Meiling Mountain. It connected the Xiangjiang River and the Lijiang River.Later, every dynasty revamped the canal，making it the major water course that linked the Lingnan Region(current Guang-dong Province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region)and the central partof China.
秦国统一六国后，向岭南用兵，秦始皇二十八年(前219年)，派监郡御史禄开凿灵渠运粮，沟通了湘江和漓江。由于历代不断增修改进，灵渠成为联接来岭南(今中国南部广东广西)与中原地区的主要交通线路。
After the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949，the canal undertook extensive repairs, turning into an important water resource for irrigation，drinking and industrial production，as well as a scenic spot. Currently，it is an important cultural relic of the country.
中华人民共和国成立后，国家对灵渠全面整修，基本保留了传统工程面貌，使其成为灌溉、城市供水和风景游览综合利用的水利工程，是全国重点保护文物。