Looking at Jiangsu along the Grand Canal - Water Resources Chapter Entering the Sea | Huai River | Water Resources

The Grand Canal, after more than 2500 years of dynamic changes, has not only made important contributions to national political unity, economic development, and cultural exchange, but still plays an important role in cargo transportation, flood control and water storage, and agricultural irrigation. It is an important living heritage. There are many important water conservancy projects in the Jiangsu section of the Grand Canal. Follow CCTV to learn more.

Jiangdu Water Conservancy Hub Project

The Jiangdu Water Conservancy Hub Project is located at the intersection of the Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal, the Xintongyang Canal, and the Huai River inlet waterway in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province. It is the leader of the Jiangsu Jiangbei Water Diversion Project and the source of the National South to North Water Diversion East Line Project. It mainly consists of 4 large pumping stations, 12 large and medium-sized water gates, 3 sets of gates, 2 culverts, 2 fish channels, and transmission and distribution, as well as the river diversion project. It has seven major functions, including pumping the river to the north, self flowing water diversion, drainage of waterlogged water, flood diversion, residual water power generation, ensuring navigation, and improving the ecological environment.

This project is the first large-scale power drainage and irrigation project in New China, the largest pumping station hub in Asia, and also a leading practice model for cross basin, long-distance, and high-flow water transfer in China. It is known as the "Pearl of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River". The hub project undertakes important tasks such as flood control and disaster reduction, water resource supply, and water ecological improvement. Since its completion, it has played a huge role in economic, social, and ecological benefits. As of now, a total of 164.3 billion cubic meters have been pumped from the north, 141.9 billion cubic meters have been diverted to the Lixia River area, 1007.1 billion cubic meters of Huai River floods have been discharged, nearly 40.5 billion cubic meters of Lixia River floods have been pumped, and the remaining water has generated 95 million kilowatt hours of electricity. Its agricultural planting has benefited an area of over 2.9 million hectares, drainage has benefited an area of 11000 square kilometers, and flood control has benefited an area of 63000 square kilometers, playing an important role in promoting the economic and social development of the northern Jiangsu region through water conservancy support and guarantee.

Huai'an Water Conservancy Hub

The Huai'an Water Conservancy Hub is located in the southern suburbs of Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province, at the intersection of the North Jiangsu Irrigation Canal, the Huaihe River estuary, and the Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal. It has nearly 30 water conservancy projects such as water gates, pump stations, ship locks, and hydropower stations. The density of engineering in the core area of the hub is rare in the world, with the scale of the Huaihe River estuary Grand Canal water overpass ranking the largest in Asia, and the diameter of the vertical axial flow pump impeller of the Huai'an pumping station is the largest in the country.

The Huai'an Water Conservancy Hub has a complex water system, numerous engineering projects, diverse functions, and significant benefits. It can be called a museum of water conservancy engineering, with comprehensive functions such as flood discharge, irrigation, water diversion, drainage, navigation, and power generation. The water of the Yangtze River is diverted from the south to the north through the Grand Canal, and the Huai River floods are discharged into the sea after being regulated and stored by Hongze Lake. The waterlogged water in the Baima Lake and Baoying Lake areas is pumped into the irrigation main canal through Huai'an Station, and the water source of Hongze Lake ensures irrigation and navigation in the northern area of the canal. Rivers, lakes, and seas are interconnected and mutually beneficial here, providing solid water resources support for economic and social development.

Since the completion of the Huai'an Water Conservancy Hub, the total irrigation canal has drained 480 billion cubic meters of water; The Huai River estuary has experienced two large-scale floods, with 33 days of flooding and 4.4 billion cubic meters of discharge in 2003; In 2007, there were 22 days of flood discharge, with a discharge of 3.42 billion cubic meters; The Huai'an Station, the second cascade pumping station of the Jiangbei Water Diversion Project and the South to North Water Diversion Project, has accumulated a drainage volume of 76 billion cubic meters. Among them, in 2022, the pumping volume of 3.67 billion cubic meters from Huai'an Station exceeded the historical peak.

The Grand Canal Interchange of the Huai River estuary is the second level hub control project of the Huai River estuary, completed in June 2003 with a total investment of 350 million yuan. Its main function is to ensure that the flood discharge of the Huai River estuary and the navigation of the Grand Canal do not affect each other. It is the largest water interchange project in Asia. The project adopts the type of "upper channel and lower tunnel". The upper channel is the class Ⅱ waterway of the Beijing Hangzhou Canal, 125.7 meters long and 80 meters wide. The lower tunnel is a 15 hole discharge culvert of the sea channel. The design flood discharge is 2270 cubic meters per second. The second phase of the Huaihe River estuary waterway project will be expanded on the north side of the existing culvert, still adopting the "upper groove and lower tunnel" type. 30 new underground culverts have been added, increasing the flood discharge to 7000 cubic meters per second. The upper groove is 251 meters long and 90 meters wide.

The Anlan Pagoda, a water conservancy hub in Huai'an, echoes the Zhenhuai Tower in Huai'an District and is a magnificent landmark building of the Qianli Huai River and the Millennium Canal. The Huaihe River estuary Grand Canal interchange project has been awarded the titles of "Jiangsu's Most Beautiful Water Landmark" and "Jiangsu's Most Beautiful Canal Landmark".