my country adds three more world irrigation engineering heritage sites

On the afternoon of November 26, Beijing time, at the 72nd Executive Council of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage held in Marrakech, Morocco, the 2021 (eighth batch) World Heritage List of Irrigation Projects was announced, and three projects, namely, the Liyunhe-Gaoyou Irrigation Area in Jiangsu Province, the Laohe Irrigation Area in Jiangxi Province, and the Saga Ancient Water Storage Irrigation System in the Tibet Autonomous Region, were successfully applied for. So far, my country has 26 world irrigation project heritages, making it the country with the richest types of irrigation project heritage, the widest distribution, and the most outstanding irrigation benefits.

Why have these three projects become world irrigation engineering heritages? What is so special about their “resumes”?

Jiangsu Province Liyunhe-Gaoyou Irrigation Area

Map of engineering heritage locations

During the Spring and Autumn Period, the King of Wu built the Han Canal, opening a new chapter in the history of the construction of the ancient canal. The Li Canal originated from the Han Canal in the Spring and Autumn Period. The Li Canal-Gaoyou Irrigation District is located in Gaoyou City, Jiangsu Province. Through water conservancy facilities such as sluices, tunnels, gates, and dams, it connects Gaoyou Lake and Gaoyou Irrigation District, realizing the allocation of water between "Gaoyou Lake-Li Canal-Gaoyou Irrigation District", taking into account the two major functions of irrigation and water transport. The "lake-river-irrigation district" is an open and complex system. From water storage, water transfer, water transport, water distribution to irrigation, it is an organic whole that operates in a coordinated manner and achieves dynamic balance. Through water conservancy facilities such as sluices, tunnels, gates, and dams, the water system is connected, which promotes regional biodiversity and interprets the sustainable development concept of "harmony between man and nature" and harmony between man and water. In this system, the imbalance in the spatial and temporal distribution of water resources has been resolved to a certain extent, and the utilization efficiency of water resources has been significantly improved. The engineering heritage of the "Liyunhe-Gaoyou Irrigation District" in Gaoyou, Jiangsu Province is a model of ancient my country's ingenious use of river and lake systems, rational regulation of rivers and lakes, and water system connectivity projects. It is a successful practice of systems theory in ancient irrigation projects.

Laohe Irrigation Area, Jiangxi Province

The Laohe Irrigation District is located in the northwest of Jiangxi Province, in Fengxin County, Jing'an County of Yichun City and Anyi County of Nanchang City. It belongs to the Laohe River Basin, a tributary of the Xiuhe River system. It is a large irrigation district with irrigation as the main function, and also has functions such as flood control, drainage, and soil and water conservation. At present, it is mainly composed of 7 water diversion dams, 7 main canals, 362 main canal system buildings, 213 branch canals, and 456 agricultural canals. The irrigation area covers an area of ​​1.0595 million mu, of which 488,700 mu is cultivated land, the designed irrigation area is 336,000 mu, and the current effective irrigation area is 254,000 mu.

Beiliao Dam (Pubi)

The Laohe Irrigation District originated in the Tang Dynasty. According to existing literature, the Pubei Project (now the Jiefang Dam), located on the Beilao River beside Chexiachen Village, Xiangtian Township, Jing'an County, was built during the Taihe period of the Tang Dynasty (827-835), more than 1,100 years ago, and is the earliest irrigation water conservancy project in the irrigation district. In the 12th year of Ming Chenghua (1476), the people of Congshan Township (now Ganzhou Town), Fengxin County, built the Wushitan Weir (also known as the Yanghao Weir) about 3 kilometers upstream of Pubei. In addition, local people in the Ming Dynasty built the Xiang Weir about 1 kilometer upstream of Wushitan Weir. The three weirs have been rebuilt many times and have become the predecessors of the three water conservancy systems of the Beilao Main Canal, Yanghe Canal, and Jiefang Main Canal. The Laohe Irrigation District has gradually developed on the basis of the above three water conservancy systems and is the earliest multi-dam water diversion irrigation district built in Jiangxi Province.

Yanghe Dam (Wushitan Dam)

The traditional water conservancy system of the Laohe Irrigation District, based on different geographical conditions, is the most complete existing traditional irrigation water conservancy system in the Jiangnan hilly area. It is also a concentrated embodiment of the level and concept of traditional Chinese agricultural water conservancy construction. Although the construction scale and materials are difficult to compare with modern water conservancy, the concepts of "harmony between man and water", "adapting to local conditions" and "using local materials" it contains shine with the wisdom of modern scientific development ideas.

Jiefang Dam (Xiangbei)

Ancient Sakya water storage and irrigation system in Tibet Autonomous Region

The ancient Sakya water storage irrigation system is located in Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous Region, with an average altitude of more than 4,000 meters. It is currently the world's highest irrigation engineering heritage. Sakya has more soil and less water, and water resources are extremely precious. Water storage irrigation is the inevitable choice for agricultural production of the Sakya people. In order to make full and effective use of water resources, local ancestors began to overcome difficulties such as high altitude and cold weather in the Song and Yuan dynasties, and gradually established a water storage irrigation system along the Chongqu River. The Chongqu River, which flows north of the Sakya irrigation area, is divided into three tributaries to the north of the temple. It is controlled by a three-gate sluice. The three tributaries flow into the Sanwang reservoir, each of which is also controlled by a sluice. The area around this irrigation system is irrigated land. After several centuries of construction, by the Ming and Qing dynasties, the utilization and management system of the irrigation system had become more perfect. During the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, Sakya, as the capital of Tibet, had more developed agriculture than the surrounding areas, and it had overcome the disasters brought by the semi-arid climate.

Sakya Irrigation Area

The layout of the Sakya water storage and irrigation system is basically based on the premise of not destroying natural resources, adapting to local conditions, and making full use of natural resources to serve mankind, so that people, land, and water are highly coordinated and unified. It is a great "human miracle" in high-altitude areas. The Sakya water storage and irrigation system is the crystallization of the wisdom of the ancestors of China's Tibetan area and an outstanding representative of ancient water conservancy projects. Although some reservoirs are abandoned or rebuilt, according to incomplete statistics, there are still more than 400 reservoirs in use, which nourish the vast fields of Tibet and benefit more than 300,000 people, accounting for about 10% of the total population of the Tibet Autonomous Region, reflecting its unique and long-standing vitality. Due to this complete water storage and irrigation system, Shigatse has developed into the "hometown of highland barley in the world". To this day, the ancient Sakya water storage and irrigation system still uses the ancient engineering form and management method, achieving a truly living inheritance.

The construction and development of China's irrigation projects have accompanied and supported the historical development of Chinese civilization. The unique natural climate conditions make irrigation the basic support for the development of China's agricultural economy. The irrigation project heritage that has continued to this day is a classic example of ecological water conservancy projects. Taking the application and sustainable protection and utilization of the world irrigation project heritage as an opportunity, we will deeply explore and show the historical culture of China's irrigation to the world, study and summarize its scientific and technological, cultural value and management experience, which has important practical significance for promoting rural revitalization, ecological civilization construction and the sustainable development of water conservancy projects.

(Guangming Daily Omnimedia reporter Chen Chen)

Source: Guangming Daily Omnimedia reporter Chen Chen

Editor: Zhang Yongqun

Editor: Wu Yaqi, Zhu Xiaofan, Wang Yuanfang