In order to further strengthen the communication and cooperation among cities along the Grand Canal, the academic research institutions and cultural tourism industrial projects, and promote the protection, inheritance, activation and utilization of the Grand Canal cultural heritage, institutions for academic research on the Grand Canal including Cultural Industry Research Institute of Peking University, Tsinghua Holdings Human Settlements Heritage Institute and Hangzhou Canal Group, industrial groups and cities along the Grand Canal  jointly established Alliance of Grand Canal Cultural Heritage Activation and Utilization on Nov.18. The alliance secretariat is located in Huaiyin District of Huai'an to promote the work in various aspects such as policy coordination, resource introduction, application of results, project implementation, etc., and facilitate members to share the experience of activation and utilization and academic research results.
The alliance will, in view of the development trend of heritage activation, take the Grand Canal cultural heritage as the foundation and the Grand Canal material heritage and intangible heritage as the main objects to build the resources dispatch and integration platform for the protection, inheritance and utilization of the Grand Canal cultural heritage, and promote the innovative transformation and development of the Grand Canal cultural belt.