The Miyun Reservoir is the largest reservoir in North China, and it is the most important source of surface drinking water in Beijing. It plays a big role in flood prevention, agricultural irrigation, ecology, urban water supply, power generation, aquaculture, tourism, etc.

The Heishan Temple Village is pilot project between China and the UNDP Water Governance Programme of Research on Agricultural Non-point Source Pollution Control and Environment Sustainable Development. It aims to solve rural domestic sewage problems through nature-based approaches such as zero-energy consumption and zero-net maintained ecological artificial wetlands. It also explores the pattern of under-forest economy of agroforestry and demonstration activities such as rural waste recycling, women-focused empowerment training, etc. It represents China’s aspiration to promote rural revitalisation and the implementation of the water-related 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals at the village level and finds solutions for realising the harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.

The Dujiangyan Irrigation System is a large-scale water irrigation system in Chinese cultural history, and has been listed as a World Cultural Heritage and Heritage Irrigation Structure. The system, as a grand water conservancy project, features water diversion without a dam, and is the only one that has preserved through time and has the longest history worldwide. Most importantly, the Dujiangyan Irrigation System still functions well at present.

The Jinsha Relic Site was the capital of the ancient Shu state in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in the pre-Qin period in China, from the 12th century BC to the 7th century BC. It was the center of ancient Shu civilization, rising on the Chengdu Plain.

Chengdu is one of the earliest cities in China to develop aquatic ecosystem protection and restoration. It has carried out a series of exploration and practice in solving urban sewage treatment and ecological value conversion. The Sha River Project, as s sub-project of the Water Restoration Project in Chengdu City, has won the Thiess International River prize in 2006.

The Three Gorges Reservoir is the largest hydraulic project in the world, and the largest engineering project in China. As a comprehensive water project, it contributes to flood prevention, power generation, shipping, water resources utilisation, etc. It is the world’s biggest hydroelectric station and clean energy production base.

The Gezhouba Hydropower Station is the first large-scale hydropower station in the Yangtze River, and the largest low-head, large-flow and run of the river hydropower station in the world, with comprehensive function in power generation, navigation conditions improving, etc. It serves the function of reverse regulation in the uneven discharge of the Three Gorges Reservoir during the flood season.

The Chinese Sturgeon Research Institute of China Three Gorges Corporation established in 1982, is the first rare fish research institution that is driven by the construction of the water conservancy projects. It provides technical support for protecting fish species while developing hydropower stations.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, which was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000, is the earliest, largest and one of the longest canals in the world. It is still used today. The canal plays a great role in the development and exchange of economy and culture between southern and northern China. In April 2022, the refilling of water into all dried-out sections of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was completed, enabling the full connection of the waterway for the first time in over a century.

The West Lake is one of the well-known freshwater lakes in China. It contributed to water supply, irrigation, and economic transportation in ancient time. The scenery of West Lake has always been praised by numerous Chinese poets and artists since ancient time for the perfection combination of stunning natural scenery and human culture.

The Wuzhen is one of China’s historic and cultural towns, and a typical riverine town located in the south of the Yangtze River. The rivers in the Wuzhen belong to the Tai Lake Basin water system within the Yangtze River. Streams, houses, bridges, stone paved alleys, all compose the most typical water town in China.