Ling Canal lies in Xing 'an county, extending for 66 kilometers. In 214 BC (the time when the construction of the Great Wall was begun), Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, ordered the excavation of the Ling canal. It is one of the three big water conservation projects of ancient China and the oldest existing canal in the world.

The building of the Ling Canal provided a transportation route for Emperor Qin's crusade of southern China, thus making it possible for him to unify the whole country. It also links Xiang River of the Yangtze System with Li River, which belongs to the Pearl River system.

In the over past 2000 years, the canal was a very essential north-south pass which had been charged with heavy transportation from China hinterland to southern border area and it has played an important role in the national unification, economic exchange and cultural communication. As the ancient canal is scientifically designed, solid engineering and uniquely accomplished in architecture, it is reserved very well and is praised as a gem of Chinese ancient irrigation works. The canal was once an important means of transports serving the region before railways and roads were constructed. Now this canal still serves its purposes by irrigating about 2700 hectare of agricultural lands. Dams were mainly made of woods and stones; slabs of stone were placed against the logs to form an embankment.

Ling Canal is divided into the northern and the southern sections. The dividing point is a V-shaped dyke in the east of the county seat, commonly known as Tianping (The balance). The sharp point of the dyke is called HuaZui (Plough Share), which bifurcates the oceanic water from the upper reach of Xiang River into two parts, of which one part, 30% of the whole flow, goes to the Li River, and the remaining 70% to Xiang River. The major spots for sightseeing are the 'Plough Share', the 'Balance', 'Qin Dyke', and 'Windfall Rock', etc.

It was the only inland navigational channel between central China and areas south of the Five Ridges in ancient times. The canal is dug with superb workmanship excelling nature and the scenery along the way is a concentration of natural and man-made landscapes. Thereafter, the obstructing Five Ridges gave way to this convenient waterway. Northern civilization came all the way down through the canal and then to the Li River to Guilin, creating a unique culture of Guilin in combination with the aboriginal culture. The building of the canal made Guilin become an important town, a connection between the southern-most part of China and the central area of the country in ancient times.