ABSTRACT
Other civilisations have produced equally ingenious hydraulic systems. The Aztecs, for instance, instituted an intricate system of hydraulic compartments around Mexico-Tinochtitlan with dikes criss-crossing Lakes Tezcuco and Chalco in Mexico Valley. But in the ancient world none could possibly have surpassed the Chinese hydraulic engineers who in 506 BC started to build the 1,700 km-long Grand Canal linking Beijing to Suzhou and Hangzhou in the south. Numerous canal towns were linked along its path, each with its own urban hydraulic system that connected onto the backbone system of the great waterway. Crossing several rivers, valleys and high grounds, the latter was equipped with numerous locks, sluices, and batteries of norias to feed water onto elevated sections.
