Canal Locks In Imperial China

As well as the paddlewheel boat, the canal lock helped to improve exploration and travel throughout Imperial China. When a boat entered the lock, a gate was lowered to hold in water. The water was then allowed to rise until it reached the level of the water up ahead. Then the boat floated on to its journey. To go “downhill”, water was released by the lock until it fell to the level of the water down below. Before the canal lock was invented, the Chinese had to drag their boats up stone ramps to reach water at the higher level, which became difficult and damaged their boats. Now that the canal lock became known, it helped the Chinese transfer their boats from different levels of water. People still use them to this day as a device for water