Gu Feng, former head of the Yangzhou Cultural Heritage Bureau, said the Yangzhou section of the Grand Canal has played a pivotal role in grain transportation and agricultural irrigation in a long history since the Sui Dynasty (581-618).

He underscored that the Grand Canal has connected China's major water systems and broken the boundaries of regional civilizations, creating conditions for the Great Reunification (Dayitong) and consolidating the country.

"The Grand Canal bears witness to history and serves as a source of artistic inspiration. Painting enables us to capture the beauty and legend of this waterway, and preserve its culture," said Li Manyuan, a Chinese-style painter known online as Yuyuhetaotao.

"The Grand Canal is the precious heritage left by our ancestors. Blending traditional culture and canal chic with the millennium Grand Canal helps us inherit this heritage," said Liu Jiaxi, another painter known online as Lumingshan.