Hangzhou is about 200 km's from Shanghai in China. There is a canal through the city centre that goes from Hangzhou to Beijing, about 1,500 km's. It has been in operation for about 2,000 years.
It is still used as an everyday means of transportation for cargo. The barges that ply the canal are so heavily laden that they seem to be on the point of sinking. They never do (or, at least I've not seen any going down).
Old people regularly use the grand canal to exercise.
