舉世聞名的萬里長城和京杭大運(yùn)河，是古代中國人民創(chuàng)造的兩項(xiàng)偉大工程，是中華民族的歷史豐碑和永遠(yuǎn)的驕傲，也是中國人民對(duì)人類文明的重大貢獻(xiàn)。保護(hù)好萬里長城和京杭大運(yùn)河，是當(dāng)代中華兒女光榮使命和義不容辭的職責(zé)。

長城是凝固的歷史，運(yùn)河是流動(dòng)的文化。在長城已成為世界文化遺產(chǎn)并得到初步有效保護(hù)的今天，我們要加倍重視京杭大運(yùn)河的保護(hù)和申遺工作。京杭大運(yùn)河不僅是一條積淀豐厚的文化遺產(chǎn)長廊，更是一條活著的、流動(dòng)的、發(fā)展的文化經(jīng)濟(jì)黃金通道。切實(shí)保護(hù)好京杭大運(yùn)河，不僅具有豐碩的歷史文化價(jià)值，而且具有巨大的經(jīng)濟(jì)社會(huì)價(jià)值。

京杭大運(yùn)河自開鑿至今，雖經(jīng)千百年歷史滄桑和社會(huì)演變，但其集航運(yùn)、灌溉、防洪于一體的功能，仍然發(fā)揮著積極的作用。京杭大運(yùn)河是南北物資運(yùn)輸和長三角經(jīng)濟(jì)的水上重要通道，有10萬多艘船舶長年在運(yùn)河上航行，年運(yùn)輸量相當(dāng)于3條京滬鐵路。京杭大運(yùn)河是南水北調(diào)東線工程的部分水道，借道運(yùn)河，稍加整修，可以節(jié)約大量的人力物力財(cái)力和土地。京杭大運(yùn)河文化遺存眾多，沿岸風(fēng)光無限，景觀獨(dú)具魅力，旅游資源十分豐富。運(yùn)河猶如一條晶瑩璀璨的項(xiàng)鏈，沿河各城市就是這條項(xiàng)鏈上的顆顆明珠，熠熠生輝，光彩奪目。京杭大運(yùn)河是一條歷史的和現(xiàn)實(shí)的“經(jīng)濟(jì)走廊”、“文化走廊”，成為沿河經(jīng)濟(jì)的“孵化器”、城市發(fā)展的“助推器”、旅游開發(fā)的“金名片”。

歷史文化和經(jīng)濟(jì)社會(huì)的雙重價(jià)值，召喚著國內(nèi)外對(duì)這條流金淌銀的京杭大運(yùn)河的高度關(guān)注。2006年5月，由陳奎元副主席帶隊(duì)，全國政協(xié)文史和學(xué)習(xí)委員會(huì)組織全國政協(xié)委員，并邀請文物、歷史、考古、水利、建設(shè)、規(guī)劃、南水北調(diào)等領(lǐng)域?qū)＜覍W(xué)者參加，全程考察了京杭大運(yùn)河的保護(hù)和利用情況，在杭州召開了京杭大運(yùn)河保護(hù)與申遺研討會(huì)，通過了《京杭大運(yùn)河保護(hù)與申遺杭州宣言》，對(duì)京杭大運(yùn)河的保護(hù)和申遺工作起到了揚(yáng)旗擂鼓的作用。

當(dāng)前，京杭大運(yùn)河的保護(hù)和申遺工作有了一個(gè)良好的開頭，國務(wù)院已將京杭大運(yùn)河公布為第六批全國重點(diǎn)文物保護(hù)單位，國家文物局也已將大運(yùn)河列入重設(shè)的《中國世界文化遺產(chǎn)預(yù)備名單》，沿河不少地方也正在對(duì)運(yùn)河實(shí)施保護(hù)和利用的綜合整治工程。但是，保護(hù)和申遺工作任務(wù)十分繁重，面臨問題也不少，如對(duì)保護(hù)和申遺工作的重要意義認(rèn)識(shí)不足，尚未引起國家層面和沿河各地的足夠重視；長期以來，大運(yùn)河的保護(hù)和整治，存在條塊分割、多頭并管的局面，缺乏整體保護(hù)規(guī)劃和統(tǒng)一管理協(xié)調(diào)機(jī)制；是整體風(fēng)貌日遭毀壞，山東濟(jì)寧以北河段斷流已有時(shí)日，一些河段污染嚴(yán)重，堵航現(xiàn)象時(shí)有發(fā)生，部分古河道頻遭破壞，運(yùn)河上的古代水工建筑以及與運(yùn)河相關(guān)的重要古建筑“建設(shè)性破壞”不止，沿河民俗風(fēng)情、民間藝術(shù)等非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)日趨消亡。

我們憂慮地感到，如果對(duì)這些問題再不引起高度重視，那么這條流淌千年的“歷史之河、文化之河”，將繼續(xù)遭受自然退化、人為毀壞，直至消亡，那將是中華民族不可挽回的巨大損失。我們將愧對(duì)先人，愧對(duì)今人，愧對(duì)后人。為此建議：

建立統(tǒng)一協(xié)調(diào)機(jī)制，切實(shí)加強(qiáng)組織領(lǐng)導(dǎo)

成立以國務(wù)院領(lǐng)導(dǎo)同志牽頭的京杭大運(yùn)河管理委員會(huì)，加強(qiáng)組織領(lǐng)導(dǎo)，統(tǒng)一協(xié)調(diào)保護(hù)、申遺和開發(fā)利用工作、避免條塊分割，政出多門；要盡快編制《京杭大運(yùn)河保護(hù)總體規(guī)劃》，明確保護(hù)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)和重點(diǎn)；全國政協(xié)牽頭，成立由國家相關(guān)部門、有關(guān)專家、沿河政府和政協(xié)參加的京杭大運(yùn)河研究機(jī)構(gòu)，對(duì)京杭大運(yùn)河及沿線開展全面調(diào)查，摸清文化遺產(chǎn)家底，協(xié)調(diào)和督促有關(guān)保護(hù)和申遺工作；按照《保護(hù)世界文化和自然遺產(chǎn)公約》的要求，盡快制定申報(bào)世界遺產(chǎn)的工作方案，積極推進(jìn)申遺工作。

制定保護(hù)條例，依法推進(jìn)保護(hù)

加大保護(hù)工作力度，必須有相應(yīng)的法律保障。鑒于京杭大運(yùn)河保護(hù)的緊迫性、嚴(yán)峻性，建議國務(wù)院盡早制定出臺(tái)類似《長城保護(hù)條例》一樣的《京杭大運(yùn)河保護(hù)條例》，對(duì)京杭大運(yùn)河保護(hù)的基本指導(dǎo)思想、原則、保護(hù)規(guī)劃編制、專項(xiàng)保護(hù)資金設(shè)立、保護(hù)工作監(jiān)督檢查以及相應(yīng)法律責(zé)任等作出明確規(guī)定，推動(dòng)大運(yùn)河的保護(hù)與管理工作，盡快走上法制化、科學(xué)化、規(guī)范化軌道。

統(tǒng)籌考慮保護(hù)利用，科學(xué)實(shí)施南水北調(diào)工程

進(jìn)一步完善南水北調(diào)東線工程與京杭大運(yùn)河古河道相銜接的設(shè)計(jì)方案，充分利用運(yùn)河古河道，通過南水北調(diào)東線工程，實(shí)現(xiàn)京杭大運(yùn)河全程通水，促進(jìn)沿河各地經(jīng)濟(jì)社會(huì)加快發(fā)展；在充分利用古河道的過程中，必須最大限度地減少或降低對(duì)運(yùn)河歷史遺存和風(fēng)貌的破壞，切實(shí)保護(hù)好運(yùn)河的物質(zhì)或非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)，延續(xù)運(yùn)河文脈，使今日造福社會(huì)的國家重點(diǎn)建設(shè)工程，成為明天珍貴的世界文化遺產(chǎn)的重要組成部分；結(jié)合南水北調(diào)工程，加大治污力度，全面修復(fù)運(yùn)河生態(tài)環(huán)境，促進(jìn)“人水和諧”，再現(xiàn)千年古運(yùn)河的整體風(fēng)貌。

廣泛動(dòng)員各方力量，共同參與保護(hù)和申遺工作

設(shè)立京杭大運(yùn)河文化遺產(chǎn)保護(hù)基金，鼓勵(lì)和支持社會(huì)力量參與京杭大運(yùn)河的保護(hù)；充分發(fā)揮新聞媒體和互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的作用，加大京杭大運(yùn)河保護(hù)和申遺工作的宣傳力度。建議中央電視臺(tái)籌拍《京杭大運(yùn)河》專題紀(jì)錄片，向海內(nèi)外宣傳京杭大運(yùn)河的深厚文化內(nèi)涵和獨(dú)特遺產(chǎn)價(jià)值；在第二個(gè)“文化遺產(chǎn)日”到來之際，在全國開展“愛我中華，護(hù)我運(yùn)河”大型主題宣傳活動(dòng)，賦予大運(yùn)河以新的民族時(shí)代精神內(nèi)涵，讓古老的大運(yùn)河綻放出更加絢麗的光彩。

（本文作者為全國政協(xié)文史和學(xué)習(xí)委員會(huì)副主任）

The Great Wall and the Grand Canal， two great engineering miracles of ancient China， are historical monuments and everlasting pride of the Chinese nation. They are two great Chinese contributions to the world civilization. It is our glorious mission and obligation to well preserve them.

The Great Wall， which has been recognized as a World Cultural Heritage Site and successfully placed under essential state protection， can be compared to a standstill history while the Grand Canal showcases a flowing culture. We need to double our endeavors to protect the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and make all the appropriate preparations for successfully getting the World Cultural Heritage status for the canal. The canal is more than a long corridor of great cultural heritage. It has been a golden waterway for dynamic cultural and social progress for neighboring regions over centuries. Protecting the canal is vitally important not only for maintaining its great historical and cultural values but also for promoting its great economic and social values.

The Grand Canal still plays a dynamic role in regional transportation， irrigation and flood control despite the great vicissitudes it has experienced over a millennium. An important waterway between Beijing and Hangzhou and within the Yangtze River Delta where goods are transported to and fro， the canal sees more than 100，000 ships navigate through it every year， carrying the freight 3 times than that carried by Beijing-Hangzhou railway. It also functions as part of a huge project of water diversion from the south to the north. By using the canal， the project can save a great deal of investment， labor and land. Teeming with scenes of natural beauty and cultural and historical interests， the canal strings all the cities along it like pearls on a glistening necklace. It has served as “an incubator”for economic and social prosperity and as a name card for tourism for cities along the canal.

The historical， cultural， economic and social significance of the canal has caught the great attention both at home and abroad. Led by Vice Chairperson Chen Kuiyuan and organized by the CPPCC Culture History Study Committee， a group of CPPCC members toured the Grand Canal from end to end in May 2006 in a field study of the canal’s preservation and utilization. At the invitation of the committee， a team of experts in various fields participated in the field study. A seminar was held in Hangzhou on the subject of preservation of the canal and application for the world cultural heritage site for the canal. At the seminar， a declaration was adopted to promote the preservation and application efforts.

A great headway has been made in the canal preservation and application for its world cultural heritage status. The State Council has included the canal in the sixth batch of key cultural heritage sites for state protection. The State Administration for the Preservation of Cultural Relics has also placed it on a revised list of the country’s candidates for world cultural heritage statuses. Comprehensive improvement projects have been initiated in some cities along the canal for the purpose of better preservation and utilization. However， the preservation and application task is arduous and there exist some thorny problems due to inadequate attention paid to the importance of the task. Consequently， over a long time， separate projects of preservation and maintenance have been conducted under different regional administration without integrated efforts and results; there has been no unified plan for preservation or mechanism for overall coordination and management; the canal as a whole has been on the serious decline; the section north of Jining， Shandong Province has been dry for a while; some sections have been seriously polluted; traffic congestion on the canal occurs here and there frequently; some sections of the ancient waterway have been vandalized repeatedly; some ancient water control projects on the canal and important ancient architectures related to the canal have been dismantled to make room for new urban projects; intangible cultural heritages along the canal such as folk lifestyles and arts have been deteriorating.

We are highly concerned that the millennium-old canal of history and culture would be continuously wrecked by nature and man until it dies if no urgent measures are taken to solve the above-mentioned problems. If the canal died on us， that could be too great a loss to the Chinese nation and we would be shamed to face our ancestors， ourselves， and our children. Therefore we make the following suggestions:

1. Set up an integrated coordination mechanism and strengthen organization and administration. A committee for the administration of Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal should be set up， which should be headed by the State Council leaders for the purpose of overall preservation， utilization， development， and application for the canal’s world cultural heritage status. Measures should be taken to avoid the situation in which each region manages its own canal preservation and utilization work in its own way. A research institute should be set up to engage national and local governments and CPPCC local branches， and experts in conducting an overall survey of the cultural heritage of the canal. The application plan for the world cultural heritage site should be completed as soon as possible in conformity with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

2. Formulate preservation regulations and promote preservation in accordance with the law. The law should be in place to ensure effective preservation. Given the serious and urgent situation of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal， it is suggested that the State Council issue regulations on the protection of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in the pattern of the Regulations on the Protection of the Great Wall， specifying the guideline， principle， responsibility， formulation of action plans， fund sources， and supervision.

3. Make an overall planning for comprehensive utilization and protection and scientifically carry out the south-north water diversion project. Measures should be taken to improve the design plan to incorporate the canal into the south-north water diversion project for the purpose of fully utilizing the ancient waterway and reintroducing water into the whole canal， and speed up social and economic development along the canal. In fully tapping into the advantages of the canal， destruction to its historical heritage and appearance should be minimized. Effective measures should be taken to protect tangible and intangible cultural heritage along the canal. More actions should be taken to minimize pollution and restore the canal’s ecology.

4. Mobilize the people of all quarters to participate in the protection and application for the world cultural heritage status. A protection fund should be set up and the public be encouraged to engage in protection tasks. News media and internet should be brought into full play to publicize the protection and application campaigns. It is suggested that CCTV make a full-length documentary on the canal to publicize the cultural content and unique value of the canal as a cultural heritage. Activities should be held before the second Cultural Heritage Day by June 10th this year for a nationwide campaign for the love and protection of the canal.

(Translated by David)