Canals beat roads for hauling freight so well that the Grand Canal of China was built in four years

the gist

A mule could carry about 100 kilograms over several days, and carts needed roads, which were often poor. Water transport was far more efficient: a horse that could pull a fraction of a ton over land could draw up to 30 tons on a barge. The oldest known canals were irrigation channels in Mesopotamia around 4000 BC. In China, the Grand Canal was built to carry the Emperor Yang Guang between Beijing and Hangzhou, a project that began in 605 and was completed in 609. It is 1,794 kilometres long, and it is still the longest canal in the world and the oldest extant one. Europe's first canals, including the Naviglio Grande near Milan built in the 12th and 13th centuries, followed as trade grew.

how it works

Water supports heavy loads because a boat floats on the water, so the friction of the load is small. A canal keeps water level along a route, and locks raise or lower boats between sections at different heights. Pound locks, which trap water in a chamber, let canals climb hills without draining.

so what

Canals were the high-speed freight network of the pre-railway world. Their locks and summit levels solved problems that engineers still work on today, and they shaped where cities and trade grew.

the bigger pattern

Waterways were the gold standard of fast transport until railways arrived. Canal building revived in Europe from the 12th century as commercial expansion grew, and the pound lock and mitre gate later made long canals possible.

fun fact

The Grand Canal of China is still the longest canal in the world.

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗