Ordinary days were memorable as well. Wu says people back then called the canal "the moat". Since there were no guardrails, fun activities were common.

"In sultry summers, we would make a splash in the canal, swimming for hours and catching shrimps, snails and clams," he recalls.

Life was blissfully simple and everybody in the neighborhood knew one another. Wu's grandfather, who ran a shoe business, owned a house with a big living room. Every day after lunch, some of the old man's friends would drop by for idle chitchat. Their lively anecdotes inspired Wu, barely 10 years old then, to re-create the grandeur of the canal on canvas.

Besides his grandfather's friends, there were many others who shaped the young boy's imagination. A veteran, who had fought in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the War of Liberation (1946-49), came to Hangzhou and found a job as a water-bearer. He would place a piece of flat wood on the top of the pails to prevent the water from spilling while walking, a routine little Wu found quite intriguing.

"The war veteran liked me. He was illiterate and hence, would ask me to make information cards to record the prepayment of his customers. He earned 0.01 yuan ($0.0015) for every pail of water he delivered and gave me 0.01 yuan for every 20 cards I made. I would go watch a film whenever I saved 0.05 yuan," the artist says, adding that earning pocket money at 9 was "unspeakable happiness".

Wu believes the Grand Canal has had a contrasting fate compared to the West Lake, one of the more famous scenic attractions in Hangzhou, which was supported by emperors, generals and poets across dynasties.