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LOCAL authorities have announced a five-year plan to keep an iconic river in Guilin City, one of the most popular scenic sites in the southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, flowing the year round.
Under the plan, three new reservoirs will be constructed at the upper reaches of the Lijiang River and its tributaries at a cost of more than 2.43 billion yuan (US$348 million), according to Li Zhigang, mayor of Guilin.
The three reservoirs, which will have a combined storage capacity of 498.5 million cubic meters, will serve the primary functions of flood control and water replenishment for the Lijiang River during the dry season.
They will also be used for power generation and farmland irrigation, said Mo Tingjin, chief of the Water Resources Department of Guilin City.
With a history of more than 2,000 years, Guilin is renowned for its green mountains, clear water and odd rock formations. It attracts 14 million tourists annually, many of whom take river cruises.
Areas along the upper reaches of the river often receive torrential rain, with an annual average rainfall of 2,400 millimeters. When these heavy rains fall, the river is flooded at the middle and lower reaches, endangering the city of Guilin.
Guilin has had 20 serious floods from 1936 to 2007.
"When the dry season begins, however, the river runs so low that the river bed is exposed, making it impossible to cruise" for up to half of the year, said Mo.
Gao Xiong, vice chairman of Guangxi, emphasized that the reservoir plan was necessary to maintain Guilin's status as a world-class tourism spot, among its other benefits.
"When the three reservoirs are in place, they will replenish 314 million cubic meters of water to the Lijiang River each year and will guarantee that the water flows at a speed of 60 cubic meters per second during the dry season, so that cruising will not be interrupted," said Gao.
According to Li, the plan has been submitted to the National Development and Reform Commission for approval. "I think construction will start in October," said Li.
Xinhua
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