Recently, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism launched 10 national tourist routes themed on the Yangtze River and a guidebook for boutique routes in the international golden tourism belt of the Yangtze River. The Li Canal and Gaoyou Irrigation Area in Gaoyou City made the list.

There are 10 Yangtze River themed tourist routes in the international golden tourism belt of the Yangtze River, and the key water control and irrigation engineering project in Li Canal-Gaoyou Irrigation Area made into the list. Good water governance is fundamental to the governance and prosperity of a country. Based on the major water conservancy hubs along the Yangtze River and World Heritage Irrigation Structures, this route brings people closer to the Three Gorges Dam, Dujiangyan Irrigation System, and other major water conservancy projects, so that they can experience the beautiful eco-environment and harmony between people and nature brought by the ancient wisdom of water control running for thousands of years.

The Gaoyou section of the Li Canal runs 43.4 kilometers from Sanshilipu, Cheluo Town, to Yingzha, Jieshou Town. There are nine culverts along the canal, which divert water from the Grand Canal and provide irrigation for the farmland in the Gaoyou Irrigation Area through four-level channels. The history of the Li Canal-Gaoyou Irrigation Area can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty more than 1,200 years ago, which set an example of skillfully using the river and lake system to carry out agricultural activities in ancient China. Li Canal-Gaoyou Irrigation Area has been included in the 2021 (the 8th batch) World Heritage Irrigation Structures (WHIS), becoming the first World Heritage Irrigation Structure in Jiangsu.