The Qianlong Emperor's Southern Inspection Tour / Emperor Qianlong South Inspection Tour

6 scroll (2)
Qianlong embarked on six southern inspection tours, as his grandfather Kangxi did. And like his grandfather, Qianlong commissioned a set of twelve monumental scrolls to document this journey. These scroll paintings were created under the direction of the court painter Xu Yan.
The sixth of the twelve scrolls, Southern Qianlong Inspection Tour, depicts the emperor visiting the city of Suzhou.

Scrolling begins with a picture of the Grand Canal on the outskirts of the city. During the Qing Dynasty, the Grand Canal was an important transportation channel for grain, salt, and other goods. Thus, control of the Grand Canal was vital to the rulers.
In this section of the scroll, we see how the barge of the emperor's mother, who accompanied him on the tour, is being pulled along the Grand Canal.