A couple wash their quilt in the old town of Doumen, Shaoxing, on Nov 23, 2019. [Photo provided by Zhong Liming/For China Daily]

Zhong Liming is a photographer, who is in his sixties and has spent all his life near the Hangzhou section of the Grand Canal. He was born and raised in the city's suburbs, studied at a local high school, went to a local university, and worked across the capital city of East China's Zhejiang province. No matter how many times he moved house or job, he always remained close to the canal.

The canal runs more than 2,000 kilometers from north to south across the vast eastern plains of China. It passes through Hangzhou, Huzhou and Jiaxing, and extends to Shaoxing and Ningbo in Zhejiang province.

The watery thoroughfare impressed him — he watched the landscape change dramatically over the past four decades, from fields to villages to streets. Also changed during that period were people's lifestyles, mindsets and relationships.

Zhong has over the past decade dedicated his time to capturing scenes of the canal to document traditional ways of life. He sees photography as a way to pass on the memory of the canal. Zhong believes China is a rising global power and the country is continuing to strive for its national rejuvenation. Zhong believes that recording the ways in which the canal changes is immensely meaningful.

A popcorn hawker in Wuzhen, Jiaxing, on March 17, 2012. [Photo provided by Zhong Liming/For China Daily]

Two Hangzhou kongfu masters and their foreign student practice Taiji in Hangzhou's Canal Plaza on Aug 20, 2022. [Photo provided by Zhong Liming/For China Daily]

A scene from the national dragon boat competition near the Gongchen Bridge, Hangzhou, on Nov 9, 2013. The event is an important part of local residents' cultural life. [Photo provided by Zhong Liming/For China Daily]

A boat holding rafters for houses traverses the canal in the village of Taoyan, Shaoxing, on Nov 16, 2019. [Photo provided by Zhong Liming/For China Daily]

The Qiantang River surges over barriers in Qige village, Hangzhou, on Aug 24, 2013. [Photo provided by Zhong Liming/For China Daily]

A fleet of baby strollers passes the canal over the Gongchen Bridge in Hangzhou in October 2012. [Photo provided by Zhong Liming/For China Daily]

Women work in a field of Zizania latifolia in Qianyuan, Huzhou, on April 4, 2021. [Photo provided by Zhong Liming/For China Daily]

The canal in Hangzhou on an evening in August 2013. [Photo provided by Zhong Liming/For China Daily]

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