South–North Water Transfer Project

A Chinese infrastructure project that transfers water from the Yangtze River basin and other southern sources to water-scarce regions of northern China through three routes.

Eastern Route of the South–North Water Transfer Project: The project’s eastern route carries water north from the lower Yangtze through the Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal system. It reuses canals and pumping stations to move water across the densely populated eastern corridor.
Beijing Water Supply: The systems that provide drinking and industrial water to China’s capital. Transfers from the central route supplement Beijing’s local sources.
Water Transfer and Environmental Impact: The ecological changes caused by diverting water between river basins. The project alters flows and water conditions in both donor and receiving basins.
Mao Zedong: A Chinese communist revolutionary and founding leader of the People’s Republic of China. He publicly proposed transferring southern water north in 1952.
Central Route of the South–North Water Transfer Project: The project’s central route carries water from the Danjiangkou Reservoir to northern China through a long gravity-fed canal. Its elevated source allows water to flow toward Beijing and Tianjin without continuous pumping.
Tianjin Water Supply: The systems that supply water to the municipality of Tianjin in northern China. Tianjin receives transferred water through the central and eastern routes.
Danjiangkou Reservoir Resettlement: The relocation of residents around Danjiangkou Reservoir as its capacity was expanded for the transfer project. Raising the reservoir required communities to move from areas slated for inundation.
Water Resources of China: The distribution, availability, and use of surface water and groundwater across China. The sharp north–south imbalance in water resources motivated the transfer scheme.
Western Route of the South–North Water Transfer Project: A proposed route intended to divert water from upper Yangtze tributaries across the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau toward the Yellow River basin. Unlike the operating eastern and central routes, this high-altitude route remains unbuilt.
Hebei Water Resources: The rivers, reservoirs, groundwater, and managed supplies available in Hebei Province, China. Hebei is a major destination where transfers aim to ease chronic shortages.

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