Jinggu River Reservoir

　　Water flows through history, traversing the sediment of time, carrying with it its changes and transformations. It exists in a flowing form — the cradle of life’s origins, yet so simple. Yes, it is simple, no more than ordinary microscopic particles, ubiquitous, light and transparent, yet an essential condition for human survival. The flow of water is tied to the lifeblood and history of entire nations. Along the banks of the Yellow River, the shores of the Nile, and the edges of the Indus, each has nurtured an ancient and vibrant people. For Jinggu County, water is one of its advantageous resources. Whether it's the surging rivers, the cascading waterfalls, or the murmuring streams, all nourish abundant biodiversity and sustain the various ethnic groups living here.

　　“As the land shapes its people,” the Wei Yuan River, which cuts through Jinggu County, winds like a long dragon, nourishing this land in rhythm with the pulse of history. Long dikes, green willows, and picturesque scenery have always been people’s most beautiful visions of rivers — yet few realize that behind these beautiful scenes lie hidden dangers.

　　Jinggu County is rich in hydroelectric resources, with a total of 94 rivers of varying sizes within its borders. Its total water resources amount to 6.72 billion cubic meters, with a per capita share of 23,500 cubic meters, and a hydropower potential of up to 760,000 kilowatts. Despite such abundant water resources, they were not better developed or utilized historically. On the contrary, they became a source of frustration and despair: Jinggu County features high mountains and low water levels, suffering from “droughts two years out of three, with unending floods in between” — a place where flood disasters occur year after year. Successive dynasties’ governments and local chieftains did not prioritize water conservancy construction. People relied solely on digging channels to divert water from small rivers and mountain streams for gravity-fed irrigation, resulting in poor flood control and drought resistance, low and unstable grain yields, and difficult living conditions for the people. Due to Jinggu’s complex terrain, winding river channels, rapid currents, and concentrated rainfall in July and August, heavy rains often led to severe flooding along the riverbanks. During the Republican era, deforestation and land reclamation were prominent in Jinggu, and slash-and-burn farming occurred annually, causing serious damage to forest vegetation. This led to severe soil erosion in the mountainous areas. According to statistics, the county’s total eroded land area reached 140,230 hectares.

　　“It’s hard to carry a bowl of water level,” and although Jinggu’s water resources are abundant, inevitably some villages suffer from low water levels or insufficient sources, making drinking water for both people and livestock relatively difficult. Some villages must carry water from mountain streams two or three li away, while others have wells with little outflow, forcing residents to queue up day and night to draw water. In dry seasons, water becomes even scarcer — as precious as oil. After 1950, the population increased dramatically year by year, coupled with a period of deforestation and unregulated logging, which damaged the ecological environment and caused some mountain springs to dry up, further worsening the drinking water crisis for humans and animals. According to a 1983 survey, there were 137 natural villages, 4,232 households, 27,700 people, and 11,400 large livestock in the county facing extreme difficulties in accessing drinking water.... From these figures and images, we can imagine how much hardship the once picturesque Jinggu, with the Wei Yuan River flowing through it, must have endured in its past.