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Bringing Water From the South to the North

22/10/09October 22, 2009

Whereas in southern China it often rains non-stop and there are floods, there is drought in the north. For years now, the Chinese government has planned to divert water with its South-North Diversion Project. The dream is now becoming a reality. 300,000 people have to be relocated to make way for the grand project.

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Lakes and rivers are drying out in northern China
Lakes and rivers are drying out in northern ChinaImage: AP

The Chinese government is prepared to go to any length to bring water to China’s the country’s dried-out north. The South-North Diversion Project involves three canals: The eastern Grand Canal, the Central Canal and the Western Canal.

The central route, which is currently under construction, runs from the Danjiangkou Reservoir on the Han River, a tributary of the Yangtse River, to Beijing.

The project has received widespread publicity in the state media. “The South-North Water Diversion Project will solve the water problem in Beijing and other areas,” explained one TV anchor.

“More than 20 cities will get water thanks to the Central Canal. The canal is 1,270 kilometres long and can transport 13 billion cubic litres of water per year,” the anchor announced enthusiastically.

Dried out rivers and desertification

China’s north and especially the city of Beijing with its 17 million inhabitants have long suffered from a shortage of water. Whole rivers and lakes have dried out. In other lakes the water level is sinking constantly. The desert is creeping towards Beijing.

Farmers complain about dusty fields that can no longer be cultivated. In other places, people have to dig 40 metres into the earth to find water. That’s why the inhabitants of Beijing welcome the government’s grand scheme:

“It’s good for the population here,” says one Beijinger. “Especially for the farmers. We need drinking water and for irrigation. It’s a good project.“

"It’s a very necessary project,” explains another. “Beijing cannot exist without water. All these building sites, the tress, we need water.”

For some a blessing, for others a curse

The inhabitants of Beijing, who will be beneficiaries of the canal, might consider it a blessing but those who live at the other end of the canal, at the beginning in Danjiangkou, consider it a curse.

Here the entire reservoir is being dammed up to help build the canal. When the dam wall is finished the whole area around will be flooded. Whole villages will be inundated and the villagers will be forced to leave their homes forever.

But flooding and relocation is not a new phenomenon in China: 1.3 million people were relocated to make way for the Three Gorges Dam. In the end, some 330,000 people will have to be relocated to make way for the South-North Water Project.

Relocation has already begun. Images of people loading all their possessions onto carts are broadcast on television. But there is no talk of the local population’s resentment, or of the protests against the project, let alone of the arguments over compensation -- arguments that are effectively unwinnable because the South-North Water Diversion Project is simply too high on the government’s agenda.

Author: Petra Aldenrath/Anne Thomas
Editor: Thomas Bärthlein