The Seawall in Qiantang Estuary

Abstract

The seawall (sea dike) situated in the estuarine reach of the Qiantang Estuary is subjected to the strong, destructive action of the world-renowned Qiantang bore; in Hangzhou Bay, on the other hand, the dike is subjected to strong wave action. The seawall protects the vast lowlands of the Taihu Lake plain on the north bank and the Xiaoshan-Shaoxing-Ningbo plain on the south bank; these plains are prosperous and densely populated. This seawall attracted much attention from the supreme sovereigns during China’s history. Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty inspected the seawall in Haining County four times during his six patrols to the southern area of the Changjiang River. After many attempts at construction, repairing and reconstruction, large amounts of money and labor were expended and, finally, a magnificent seawall, nearly 300 km long, was completed. Along with The Great Wall and Grand Canal, the Qiantang Seawall is one of the three most famous civil engineering works of ancient China.