A view of Tanglai Canal in Yinchuan, Northwest China"s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, on July 20, 2026 Photo: VCG

　　Across the Ningxia Plain in northwestern China, Yellow River water flows through channels like veins, reaching farmland. Along the Daqing Canal, water moves silently through newly rebuilt rectangular concrete flumes, its surface smooth as a mirror.

　　“The route of the canal hasn’t changed, but everything inside has,” said Bai Lu, head of the Qingtongxia Irrigation Area modernization project team under the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Water Conservancy Engineering Construction Center, crouching by the canal wall and tapping the sturdy concrete lining.

　　“In the past, it was earth canals or precast slab canals, and seepage and siltation were problems every year. Now it has been fitted with this ‘reinforced concrete shell’ — water is conveyed faster, and less is wasted.”

　　The Qingtongxia Irrigation Area is one of China’s six mega irrigation areas and an important part of the World Heritage-listed Ningxia Yellow River Ancient Irrigation System. In March 2025, the modernization project officially began, giving this ancient irrigation district a “digital brain.”

　　“An ancient irrigation area is not a museum relic. It is a tool that can be put to use,” Bai said.

　　Old channel upgraded

　　The Daqing Canal was first excavated during the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and its route has remained almost unchanged ever since. But the canal itself has long been under strain.