The Grand Canal: Qianlong's Southern Tours

The first tour of 1751 begins with water, not palaces. In the second lunar month Qianlong inspected the Tianfei sluice and the Gaojiayan embankment, which holds back Hongze Lake. Seeing the north of Huai'an ringed by water behind mere earth banks, he ordered the defences rebuilt in stone. By 1751 the stone lakefront wall, begun in 1580, ran 60.1 km, 7 to 8 m high, with 108 bends. Parts of the embankment survive, among them a stele left by the emperor.

Location precision: The sources name the embankment, not the spot where he stood; the pin marks Gaoliangjian, on its line.

In the third lunar month of 1751 Qianlong reached Hangzhou and toured West Lake with the empress dowager. He left his mark in stone: poems written on the reverse of Kangxi's stelae for the Ten Scenes, and his own inscriptions for the Eight Scenes of Dragon Well in the hills. Beijing's imperial gardens, including the Old Summer Palace, were designed to imitate the lake.

Location precision: The sources name the lake and its scenes, not a spot on the shore; the pin marks the lake.

Visitor guidance: Many of the Ten Scenes can be reached on foot around the lake.

Heading home from his first tour, Qianlong left the canal and went overland to Tai'an to burn incense at Dai Temple. The temple sits at the foot of Mount Tai, and emperors had made sacrifices there since Emperor Wu of Han in 110 BC. Qianlong's own journey, by water and land, covered 5,800 li and lasted a little over five months.

Visitor guidance: The temple stands in Tai'an, at the foot of the mountain.

In Qianlong's day the wealth of Yangzhou's canal officials and salt merchants built lavish residences and gardens here. For his second visit in 1757 the lake was dredged and widened to carry the imperial entourage. The lake's landmarks include a White Dagoba copied from the one in Beijing's Beihai Park, and the Fishing Platform, a favourite retreat of the emperor. His luck there was helped along: local swimmers lurked in the water attaching fish to his hook.

Visitor guidance: A public park; boats and walks run along the lake.

On the 22nd day of the second lunar month of 1757 the emperor reached Suzhou. He took the empress dowager to see the weaving workshops, a fitting visit: silk and tea from the Jiangnan region were prized staples of the court. The easy transport the canal gave is what made such inspection tours possible at all.

Location precision: The sources name no address for the workshops; the pin marks the city.

On the way back north, early in the fourth lunar month, he inspected the river works at Xuzhou, saw villagers in rags along the road and extended famine relief to the fifth month. On the 10th day he reached Qufu and visited the Kong Forest, the cemetery of Confucius and his family. More than 3,000 stone tablets still stand among its trees.

Visitor guidance: The cemetery is open to visitors in Qufu.