🇨🇳 China · Hydraulic works
Karez of Turpan
Han dynasty 142 BCE to Qing · Han, Uyghur, Hui oasis communities
2000-year karez underground qanat network (5,000 km, 1,100 lines) feeding Turpan Depression vineyards from Tian Shan snowmelt.
🇨🇳 China · Hydraulic works
Grand Canal – Beijing-Hangzhou Section (Jing-Hang Yunhe)
Spring & Autumn to Sui to Qing continuous operation · Wu State, Sui, Yuan engineers plus successive dynasties
1,797 km artificial river (5th c. BCE–609 CE)—world's longest canal, feeding capitals for 1,400 years.
🇨🇳 China · Hydraulic works
Dujiangyan Irrigation System
Warring States, Qin to Qing continuous · Qin state engineers under Li Bing (later successive dynasties maintenance)
256 BCE Qin weir still irrigating 5,300 km²—world's oldest dam-less hydraulic system.
🇨🇳 China · Hydraulic works
Lingqu Canal – Magic Canal (Xing'an, Guangxi)
Qin to Tang to Qing continuous use · Qin imperial engineers under Shi Lu
214 BCE Qin contour canal—36 km linking Yangtze to Pearl via watershed split and 1,400-year-earlier pound locks.