The Red Flag Canal in Linzhou city, Henan province, is now collecting the materials for a formal application to World Heritage status.
The 1,500-km canal was carved out on the Taihang Mountains in the 1960s, after villagers mobilized themselves for the project to ensure the water supply to drought-ridden Linzhou. No heavy machinery was used in digging the waterway, whose length exceeds the distance between London and Vienna. The canal is still in service and inspires generations of Chinese with a spirit of hard work and devotion.
A Linzhou committee on the application said they hope to list the 70-km main stretch of the channel for inscription. The application will bring better protection to the canal and promote it worldwide.