Central route of water diversion project marks 5th anniversary

Nanyang city in central China's Henan province held a series of events from Dec. 6 to 9 to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the operation of the central route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.

Since the 1432-kilometer central route went into operation on Dec. 12, 2014, more than 25.8 billion cubic meters of water has been pumped to Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei province, and Henan province, benefiting nearly 60 million people, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.

An important item on the commemoration agenda was a symposium on the cooperation between Beijing, a major beneficiary of the water project, and Nanyang, home to the headwork of the main trunk canal serving the central route.

Sun Haozhe, vice mayor of Nanyang, said at Friday's symposium that Beijing has assisted in Nanyang's development in recent years through various means.

"For example, a number of Beijing-based companies, such as the Beijing Capital Group Company and Beijing Automotive Group, helped to build small towns with unique characteristics and cultivation bases for agricultural products in Nanyang. These projects have created stable incomes for more than 20,000 local impoverished people," Sun said.

Seven additional cooperation agreements were signed between the two cities at the symposium, covering areas such as professional training, the application of scientific and technological achievements, and the development of the senior care services industry.

"Through these cooperation projects, Beijing's advantages in education, technology and industry can be better leveraged to support Nanyang in boosting its economic and social development," Sun said.

As part of the commemoration, 30 Beijing residents were invited to visit the canal headwork in Nanyang's Xichuan county on Saturday to learn more about the construction and operation of the massive infrastructure program.

After learning that some 165,000 Xichuan people left their hometown to make way for the water project, Li Yongmei from Beijing's Chaoyang district said: "When we drink the diverted water, we must not forget where it comes from. We should be grateful for the migrants who have made great sacrifices to make this project happen."

Zhang Fengmin, member of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference said: "This visit has helped me realize that every drop of water we drink does not come easily. The water project is a result of the concerted efforts of numerous people."

Zhang added, "I think each visitor today needs to take responsibility to introduce the project to the general public and inspire more people around us to save water."

The commemoration also included an exhibition on the benefits that the central route delivered in the past five years as well as a forum with the theme "Water safety and green development."