Thanks to modern transportation such as planes and trains， we can get things from different parts of China and can travel far and fast.

But what was life like in ancient times without modern transportation？ About 2，500 years ago， Chinese people used the Grand Canal to travel and carry things.

The canal was built from the Spring and Autumn Period. It is 1，747 kilometers long. In the world it is the longest man-made waterway and runs from Beijing in the north to Hangzhou in the south. With the canal， people in ancient China carried things more easily than by using horses and cows.

Today， half of the canal is still making a difference to our life. To remember the canal， the United Nations Post Office issued a stamp of it on 25th August， 2021. It lets more people learn about the great waterway of China.

多虧了像飛機和火車這樣的現(xiàn)代交通工具，我們可以買到來自中國不同地方的東西，還可以快速地去遠方旅行。

但是，在沒有現(xiàn)代交通工具的古代，生活是什么樣子的呢？大約2500年前，中國人利用大運河出行和運送東西。

這條運河始建于春秋時期，長近1747千米。它北起北京，南至杭州，是世界上最長的人工水道。得益于這條運河，古代的中國人可以更方便地運送東西，比用馬、牛容易多了。

如今，一半的大運河仍在我們的生活中發(fā)揮著作用。為了紀念它，聯(lián)合國郵局于2021年8月25日發(fā)行了一枚印有大運河的郵票。這枚郵票能讓更多的人了解了中國這條偉大的水道。

Word Bank

transportation n. 交通工具

carry v. 運送

waterway n. 水路；航道

issue v. 發(fā)行

stamp n. 郵票