Three Gorges Reservoir hits 175-meter mark after annual refill cycle

The Three Gorges Reservoir on Friday finished its annual impoundment process, gradually refilling to the 175-meter mark after the summer flood season, to store enough water for winter and spring use downstream.

It marked the 14th year that the reservoir, which is located at the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, achieved the 175-meter target, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.

This target is the highest water level that the resevoir can achieve during normal operation, and it also serves as the upper limit for flood control operations in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

During the main flood season each year, the reservoir proactively lowers its water level to free up storage capacity in preparation for potential upstream floods. Typically, by late September, when the flood season nears its end and the risk of flooding significantly decreases, the Three Gorges Reservoir begins its annual impounding process, gradually raising the water level back to 175 meters.

Historical data from the Yichang Hydrological Station in the Yangtze River Basin shows that over 60 percent of the annual water inflow is concentrated during the flood season, while water availability often becomes insufficient during the dry winter period.

Therefore, the Three Gorges Reservoir must store sufficient water by the end of October to ensure a steady release to the middle and lower reaches during the dry season.

According to statistics, from November last year to April this year, the Three Gorges Reservoir cumulatively replenished 11.67 billion cubic meters of water downstream, equivalent to a year's water supply for over 15 million people.

"The Three Gorges Reservoir's achievement of reaching the 175-meter storage target can effectively meet the production, domestic, and ecological water demands of the people along the Yangtze River. This will maintain the reservoir's average daily outflow rate at over 6,000 cubic meters per second during the upcoming winter and spring seasons," said Gong Wenting, engineer from reservoir management department, basin hub operations center, China Three Gorges Corporation.

Three Gorges Reservoir hits 175-meter mark after annual refill cycle

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's official visit to China signals a policy shift towards building a more pragmatic relationship between the two countries, according to a Canadian researcher.

Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin an official visit to China through Saturday, which marks the first trip by a Canadian Prime Minister to the country in eight years.

Robert Hanlon, director and principal investigator of Canada and the Asia Pacific Policy Project (CAPPP) at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) that Carney's visit indicates Canada is recalibrating its strategic perception of China, which could cement the foundation for the country's economic diversification efforts and boost the development of bilateral cooperation.

"I think it's a clear message that he has moved Canada's strategy to a much more pragmatic, interest-based, -focused relationship with our trading partners, moving away from values-based narratives that we might have heard on previous governments. Canada has spoken about moving from what the Prime Minister's Office is calling "from reliance to resilience", and that means diversifying our economies and our trade everywhere in the world. And so China being our second largest trading partner, it makes perfect sense for our PM to head to Beijing," he said.

The scholar also noted the huge cooperation potential between the two sides in economic and trade fields, citing Canada's efforts to step up shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the planned construction of an oil pipeline in Alberta which aims to increase export access to Asian markets. "Canada and China both share tremendous economic opportunities together and so finding ways to enhance our exports. Canada specifically looking to build out its LNG and oil, kind of export market. We know Canada is a major producer of critical minerals and China is a buyer. And so there's a lot of synergy between that kind of those kind of markets," he said.

Canadian PM's visit to China paves way for more pragmatic trade ties: scholar