BEIJING, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Noisy, smoky vessels, polluted water and chaotic traffic on China's 2,500-year-old Grand Canal will soon be distant memories, the government hopes.

    Officials have ordered vessels on the waterway to be upgraded as the government prepares to seek world heritage status for the canal.

    All cement-built ships and oar-powered boats would be banned on the canal next year, said Vice Minister of Communications Xu Zuyuan at a recent conference in Hangzhou, capital of eastern China's Zhejiang Province.

    Used for fishing, freighting and housing, oar boats used to account for 40 percent of all vessels on the canal despite their small tonnage, low safety standards and heavy pollution, which also characterize cement-built ships.

    Since 2004, 35,000 oar boats have been dismantled or transformed, with 5,000 more still to be removed, said Xu.

    A total of one billion yuan (125 million U.S. dollars) has been allocated to subsidize ship owners in upgrading their vessels to government standards.

    Linking Hangzhou and Beijing, the 1,794-kilometer Grand Canal is the longest artificial waterway in the world. It dates back to the 5th Century BC and served as a major north-south artery after being completed in the 13th Century.

    The canal still has 1,000 navigable kilometers, with four major ports each handling more than 30 million tons of freight annually. The rest of the canal has dried out, stagnated or been built over.

    Each of the past three years saw on average 46 traffic jams lasting more than eight hours, blocking more than 100,000 ships.

    The government started a project to standardize the types of vessels on the canal in 2004, while experts and political advisors have called for world heritage status.

    Fewer substandard ships had resulted in less noise and air pollution on the canal, with the average navigating speed up by more than 60 percent and accidents down by 40 percent, said Xu.

    In March, 58 Chinese political advisors jointly proposed measures to start protecting the Grand Canal immediately and apply for its world heritage status in five years.