It was considered dÃ©classÃ© to refer to one's own townhouses, estates or villas (or those of friends) as mansions and modern etiquette books still advise that the terms house, big house or great house be used instead.
Waste weir. A waste weir on a navigable canal is a slatted gate on each canal level or pound, to remove excess water and to drain the canal for repairs or for the winter shutdown.
The oldest part of the canal lies between the Yangtze and the city of Huaiyin (formerly called Qingjiang) in Jiangsu province, which was originally on the Huang He (Yellow River) when that river followed a course much farther to the south.