China completes Grand Canal water supply project

BEIJING, June 2 (Xinhua) -- A three-month water-replenishment project that aims to supply water to the Grand Canal, a vast waterway connecting the northern and southern parts of China, has been successfully completed, the Ministry of Water Resources said Friday.

A total of 926 million cubic meters of water was injected into the canal between March and May, the ministry said in a statement.

The canal now has water flowing through it for the second time within roughly a century. All of its dried-out sections were refilled with water in 2022 for the first time in almost 100 years, thanks to a water-supply project.

The project helps ease groundwater overexploitation in northern China, improve the ecosystems along the canal, and promote the culture of the canal, the ministry said.

With a history of more than 2,500 years, the Grand Canal, connecting Beijing and Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province, served as a significant transportation artery in ancient China.

Due to historical evolution, human activity and climate change, some sections of the canal began to dry up in the first half of the 20th century.