Why can China accomplish a mega water diversion project? Three quarters of Beijing's water supply from more than 1,000 kilometers away

[Beijingwalker]

Beijing Xiaojiahe river 肖家河 20 years ago, an open sewer and garbage landfill

 

[Beijingwalker]

Beijing Xiaojiahe river 肖家河 now

 

[Beijingwalker]

Beijing Xiaojiahe river 肖家河 now

 

[Beijingwalker]

 

[Beijingwalker]

Almost all Beijing rivers now have jogging lanes along the banks

 

[Beijingwalker]

Almost all Beijing rivers now have jogging lanes along the banks

 

[Beijingwalker]

Almost all Beijing rivers now have jogging lanes along the banks

 

[Beijingwalker]

 

[ety]

Can't believe that barely 20 years, A new capital debate was covered by every news paper and TV channel in China, it was almost certain that China would move the capital to another city because of Beijing's water shortage and water pollution. How humans can just turn the tables around on nature is just mindblowing.

But, there was really no good alternate city to Beijing as the Capital. Take a look at the best possible alternatives. The historical glorious Xian is too much inland and faces the same water shortage problem. Nanjing is too far south, too hot in the summer and too unlucky in history, many times the city ended up massacred. Wuhan is located too far south too and the weather is really too hot in the summer. Then, China probably has to build a new capital city somewhere in the North China plain to be the best option.

 

[ety]

Beijing local folks and local birds are fighting for the fish in Beijing city rivers and canals

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Can't believe people are actually fishing in the rivers pretty much inside city centers.

 

[Beijingwalker]

Can't believe people are actually fishing in the rivers pretty much inside city centers.

Xizhimen Gaolianghe 高梁河， 5 minutes walk from my home, sometime I go fishing there. I saw some people caught some huge fish in it.
This very river was covered with a thick layger of pollutants when I was a child and we always joked that we can just walk across the river on those floating pollutants without worrying sinking into the river, everyone dumped everything in it, and this river used to stink so much and you can smell this river long before you can see it.

 

[Beijingwalker]

Beijing Tongzhou Yunhe river

 

[Beijingwalker]

Beijing doesn't have big rivers but has numerous small rivers
20 years ago they all served as open sewers and garbage dumps.

 

[Beijingwalker]

 

[Beijingwalker]

Spring is arriving in Beijing and its city rivers