The Grand Canal, known to the Chinese as the Jing–Hang Grand Canal (Chinese: 京杭大运河; pinyin: Jīng-Háng Dà Yùnhé; literally: 'Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal'), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the longest as well as the oldest canal or artificial river in the world. Starting at Beijing, it passes through Tianjin and the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the city of Hangzhou, linking the Yellow River and Yangtze River.