The photo taken in 1978 shows a seven-hole bridge above the Grand Canal. [Photo by Tang Desheng/cpanet.org.cn]

The photo album The Grand Canal depicts the fate of a group of people living on both sides of the canal since the 1960s.

Through the portrait of vivid individuals, the images present the relationship between history and humans, and reflect the national spirit of diligence, bravery, perseverance and optimism. The photos, like a mirror of history, provide real look at the past.

The Grand Canal, stretching 3,200 kilometers from Beijing to Hangzhou, marks the world's longest man-made waterway. The canal, once an important waterway for transporting supplies between the south and the north, has a history of more than 2,500 years. A stretch of the canal of over 1,000 km was recognized as a world heritage site in 2014.

The photographer Tang Desheng, who was born by the Grand Canal and grew up near the canal, has special attachment to the canal. In his childhood, he used his uncle’s camera to capture the scene of his friends in a water fight, marking his first encounter with photography. Since then, he has become interested in photography and embarked his road of creation.

The photo album The Grand Canal has not only been highly praised in the photographic circle in China, but also has won many awards abroad. "What we hold is not a common camera lens, but our state of mind," Tang Desheng said.