The Canal Economic Zone represents an economic form that tightly integrates shipping economy with regional economy,serving as a significant measure to provide shipping support for the country’s new development pattern of “dual circulation”.Addressing issues such as unclear definition of the Canal Economic Zone,insufficient theoretical foundation,unclear operational logic,and unsystematic overall understanding,this article proposes the connotative characteristics of the Canal Economic Zone and a canal-oriented economic zone system.By employing interdisciplinary research,qualitative analysis,and case study methods,it concludes that the core content of Canal Economic Zone planning is to comprehensively develop the regions along the canal,develop canal-related industrial systems,organize production factors around the canal,and guide the agglomeration of urban and rural populations,ultimately forming a banded territorial spatial layout.The research results show that Canal Economic Zone planning should focus on six key aspects:core industries,banded space,open mechanisms,green development,county economy,and government-enterprise cooperation,to establish a canal-oriented productivity organization and territorial spatial layout model.