UPDATED: May 11, 2011 Web Exclusive | Modernized Hydro Infrastructure | | | | Southwest China's Sichuan Province is crisscrossed with rivers. Local people have used river water to irrigate their farmland since ancient times. The 8.0-magnitude Wenchuan earthquake critically damaged the province's hydro infrastructure.
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ANCIENT WONDER: The Dujiangyan Irrigation System built about 2,260 years ago still plays an important role in flooding prevention in the Chengdu Plain (SHI GANG) |
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ANCIENT AQUIFICATION: A canal connects the Dujiangyan Irrigation System to the outskirts of Chengdu City. The system was built about 2,260 years ago and still plays an important role in flood prevention on the Chengdu Plain (SHI GANG) |
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SLUICE OF LIFE The sluice gate of the Guansongpengyan Irrigation Project in Hanwang Town was built with help from east China's Jiangsu Province. A total of 1,646 hydro infrastructure reconstruction projects were planned in the 39 counties hardest hit by the quake. Of these, 1,554 projects have been completed, accounting for 94 percent of the total. These projects cost 19.4 billion yuan ($2.99 billion) (SHI GANG) |
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BEYOND RECOGNITION The original sluice gate of the Guansongpengyan Irrigation Project was irreparably damaged by the quake and abandoned. Sichuan Province statistics show the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake damaged 1,222 reservoirs and created 113 barrier lakes, affecting the irrigation, power generation and drinking water supplies of about 6.68 million residents (SHI GANG) | |
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