Four More Chinese Irrigation Projects Designated World Heritage Structures
Four more ancient Chinese irrigation sites have been recognized as World Heritage Irrigation Structures (WHIS), according to the Ministry of Water Resources.
Granted by the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) on October 6, the inclusions of the Tongjiyan Irrigation System, the Xinghua Duotian Irrigation and Drainage System, the Songgu Irrigation Scheme, and the Chongyi Shangbao Terraces have brought the total number of Chinese irrigation projects on the WHIS list to 30.
“China, among all countries, has the most diverse types of heritage irrigation projects with the widest distribution and the best irrigation benefits,” said Chen Mingzhong, an official with the water resources ministry.
With its headwork located at the confluence of three rivers in Chengdu City in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, the Tongjiyan Irrigation System has the largest and longest operating movable weir in Chinese history. The Xinghua Duotian Irrigation and Drainage System, located in Xinghua City in east China’s Jiangsu Province waters arid uplands with the likes of dykes, channels, and water gates. Located in Songyang County in east China’s Zhejiang Province, the Songgu Irrigation Scheme is an excellent model of ancient irrigation works for small and medium-sized river basins. With a dense network of weirs, dykes, ditches, and channels, drawing water from a local stream, the irrigation system now spans an irrigated area of about 11,000 hectares. The Chongyi Shangbao Terraces cover an area of about 3,400 hectares in the mountainous region of Chongyi County in southeast China’s Jiangxi Province. Built on steep slopes during the Song Dynasty (9601279) and perfected during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the terraces have sound irrigation and ecological systems.
It is important to present the history and culture of Chinese irrigation works, and study their science, technology, cultural value, as well as the ways they have been managed, Chen said, noting that this will help the country’s efforts to advance rural revitalization, ecological protection, and sustainable water resource utilization.