This photo was taken on October 1 2005 and looks straight north.

In the front Shuang Bridge crosses Tonghui Canal and in the rear is Shuang Railway station.

Normally, there would be a lot more traffic, but this was the first day of the October National Holiday and most people were home celebrating.

On the one hand, that offered a good opportunity for moving around more easily to take pictures, but on the other hand it also resulted in more "dead" photos.

The side roads of the canal were closed for repair from this point. The repair vehicles can be spotted on the left bank of the photo.

Note the airplane which is lining up for landing at Beijing International Airport some 15km north of the canal.

An extremely busy intersection between the canal, an expressway, a main highway and the railway.

Two cars can be spotted on the highway in the front. Behind them a train is passing towards the left of the photo.

The speed of the train renders an almost ghost-like picture. The camera angle makes the sky and vegetation behind the train visible through the moving windows, making the train appear almost transparent.

This is the historic Yongtong Qiao, or "Ever-Flowing" bridge.

Guo Shou Jing erected the original bridge at this location, but the present one was built in 1446. It is a stone bridge with iron corner reinforcements.

Its modern name is Bali Qiao ("Eight-Li" bridge) and it was the site of a fierce battle in 1860 between Qing troops and Anglo-French forces.

Its unique design with three arches allowed boats to pass it without lowering their masts.

Like the Marco Polo bridge, Bali bridge is lined with lions stemming from various time periods.

The northern- and southern sections with triple arches are quite recent additions.

Tonghui canal now begins its flow through the city of Tongxian. Regular high-rise apartment buildings line its banks for the next couple of kilometers.

A lack of sufficient flow-through makes Tonghui  less inviting for fishing or taking a stroll along the water.

The relatively low water level allows garbage to drift and get trapped in bottom vegetation not exactly adding to the attractiveness of the view.