South-north water diversion project starts to supply water to Beijing

Photo taken on Nov 17, 2014 shows the heightened Danjiangkou Reservoir Dam. (Xinhua/ Hao Tong)

China has made another step towards completing its South-North Water Diversion Project. The first-stage of the middle route, a new 1,200 kilometers waterway, recently started to supply water to Beijing.

After decades of planning and construction, clear water from the Danjiangkou Reservoir runs through southwestern Henan province, across rivers such as River Shahe and Yellow River, all the way to Beijing, along the west side of Beijing-Guangzhou Railway. The first stage of the middle route, started in 2003, aims to pump almost 9.5 billion cubic meters of water every year to the country's parched north, including more than 100 cities and counties.

Water flowing via the middle route will effectively alleviate the water shortage situation in Beijing, Tianjin and Henan province. A total of 345,000 people around the Danjiangkou Reservoir and 65,000 people for project land plot have been relocated due to the construction of the middle route.