By love-89.com Danjiangkou Reservoir, often hailed as “Asia’s largest artificial lake,” is situated in the eastern part of Shiyan City, Hubei Province. It serves as the source area for the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. Since the project began full operations in 2014, over 66 billion cubic meters of water have been transferred, benefiting around 108 million people across four provinces: Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, and Henan.
In Bailongquan Village, located in Liangshuihe Town of Danjiangkou City, 82-year-old resident Li Guanggen carefully unfolded a certificate he had kept in a box. The yellowed paper read: “Comrade Li Guanggen participated in the construction of the Hanjiang Danjiangkou Water Conservancy Project. Under the leadership of the Party, he made significant contributions to the project. To strengthen agriculture at the frontline, he has returned home to work. This certificate is issued as a keepsake.”
Let’s turn back time to July 1958, when Li Guanggen, a second-year student at Liangshuihe Middle School, received a notice from his brigade to prepare for work at the Danjiangkou dam construction site. “Our team sent over 20 people, and I was the youngest,” he recalled. The group walked to the site, surrounded by desolate mountains and without any place to stay. After a short break, they picked up their tools and climbed the hills to chop down trees and cut grass to build thatched huts. “When we left home, each person carried a quilt and a bundle of straw, laying the straw on the ground to sleep; several people shared one hut.”
On September 1, 1958, construction officially began on the Danjiangkou dam, with 100,000 laborers from Hubei and Henan Provinces arriving at the site with simple tools and food. “I still remember the day when Hubei Governor Zhang Tixue said, ‘The 100,000 labor army will make Danjiang their home, dedicating themselves to water conservancy for the revolution,'” Li reminisced. After construction began, work continued day and night in shifts. “The site was bustling with excitement, filled with the sounds of gongs and broadcasts during the day, and bonfires lit up the night. Torches formed lines from the material yard to the riverbank, almost like daytime,” he described, his voice growing more passionate as he recalled those fervent days.
Despite the harsh conditions, the workers’ enthusiasm never waned. “We were all in a race to keep up with one another, afraid of falling behind,” Li Guanggen remembered. “Many didn’t even go home for the New Year.” Thanks to their determination, the cofferdam project, which took 16 months, was successfully completed, with the laborers excavating 2.5 million cubic meters of earth and rock and using their strength to fill the raging Han River with the mountain known as Huangtuling, building a 1,320-meter-long cofferdam to divert the river.
Later, Li returned to farming but continued to follow the developments of the dam. “I watched on TV as the dam was completed and raised, and as it began to provide water,” he shared. “The dam is like my child; I have watched it grow day by day, fulfilling its role in protecting the people. I feel an immense sense of pride.”
His grandson, Li Chao, shared, “I often heard my grandfather tell stories about building the Danjiangkou dam, but I never knew he had this certificate.” It wasn’t until 2019 that Li Guanggen revealed the document.
“I decided to visit the dam; it was my first time back since returning home,” he said. On the morning of July 24, 2019, he and his wife stood atop the dam, looking at the clear reservoir water, moved to tears.
Li Guanggen expressed that over the years, the ecology of the Danjiangkou reservoir area has improved, and his family’s life has become more prosperous. “Now we have four generations under one roof, and my son runs a farmstay, benefiting from tourism,” he said. In 2019, the Shiyan municipal government even presented him with a plaque inscribed with the words “The Spirit of Building the Dam is Passed Down Through Generations.” He vowed to carry forward the spirit of hard work, selfless dedication, and unity in support of national development.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 10th anniversary of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project becoming operational. Currently, for every three cups of water consumed in the capital, two are sourced from the Danjiangkou Reservoir.
Thanks to this “South Water,” over 100 million people along the South-to-North Water Diversion route no longer worry about drinking water. As a result of this initiative, regions receiving water in North China have seen the groundwater levels rise by at least one meter in many areas due to ecological replenishment. Rivers and lakes such as the Hutuo River and Baiyangdian are rejuvenating. This “South Water” has become a vital resource for livelihoods, ecology, and sustainable development, supporting major national strategies like coordinated development in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, construction in the Xiong’an New Area, and ecological protection in the Yellow River basin.