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Shangyou River Hydropower Plant

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The Shangyou River Hydropower Plant was an auxiliary project of the Xihua Mountain Tungsten Mine—one of the 156 key projects during China’s First Five-Year Plan period. It was the country’s first dam-type power station, built with Soviet assistance at the time. Known as the “Mother Plant of Jiangxi’s Hydropower Industry” and the “Cradle of China’s Hydropower Talent,” it was also the “little sun” that Chairman Mao promised to our southern Jiangxi Soviet Area. Official construction began on March 8, 1955, and it started generating power in November 1957—completed in just two years and eight months. The dam is 53 meters long, with a maximum height of 67.5 meters, and has an installed capacity of 72,000 kW. The total reservoir capacity is 822 million cubic meters, and the normal water storage level is 198.4 meters. When releasing floodwaters, the scene is majestic and spectacular. The total investment for the project was only 57.76 million yuan, with a cost of just 963 yuan per kilowatt. Its low investment, fast construction, and high quality made it a milestone in the history of China’s hydropower development.

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The Shangyou River Hydropower Plant was an auxiliary project of the Xihua Mountain Tungsten Mine—one of the 156 key projects during China’s First Five-Year Plan period. It was the country’s first dam-type power station, built with Soviet assistance at the time. Known as the “Mother Plant of Jiangxi’s Hydropower Industry” and the “Cradle of China’s Hydropower Talent,” it was also the “little sun” that Chairman Mao promised to our southern Jiangxi Soviet Area. It was officially commenced on March 8, 1955, and began power generation in November 1957, completed in just two years and eight months. The dam is 53 meters long, with a maximum height of 67.5 meters, an installed capacity of 72,000 kW, and a total reservoir capacity of 822 million cubic meters. The normal water level is 198.4 meters, and the flood discharge is both powerful and spectacular. The total project investment was only 57.76 million yuan, with a per-kilowatt cost of just 963 yuan. With low investment, rapid construction, and high quality, it stands as a milestone in the history of China’s hydropower engineering.