China preparing for south-to-north diversion project

People living in Xichuan County, central China's Henan Province, are ready for a second migration for China's huge water diversion project.

China's south-to-north water diversion project, to bring relief to China's drought-ridden north by diverting water from the Yangtze River, is another mammoth water conservancy scheme larger even than the Three Gorges Project. Such a massive project requires long-time preparation work. As a first step, the Chinese government in the 1950s built a vast reservoir 1,000 km from Beijing, which led to the migration of some local people. Today some of them and their offspring will leave their home again for the water diversion project.

The linchpin of the huge water diversion project lies in the water quality of watersheds, some experts contend, proposing that more investment should be put into water and soil conservation work in water source zones.