A WHIS exhibition center officially opened in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia, in May 2025. The first venue in the Yellow River basin to present 2,000 years of irrigation heritage in a systematic way, it filled a gap in the region"s cultural offerings by bringing its water and Yellow River culture together under one roof.

　　In recent years, Ningxia has stepped up its protection and use of water cultural heritage, enacting China"s first local legislation specifically focused on the protection of the WHIS and adding a dedicated chapter on water culture to its conservation plan (2018-2035) for the ancient Yellow River irrigation district.

　　These local initiatives are part of a broader national push. The Ministry of Water Resources has, notably, been building an institutional framework for protecting water heritage.

　　In July 2026, it issued guidelines on advancing water culture, calling for a three-pronged framework for protecting, passing on and promoting water culture. These guidelines also set out measures including drawing up technical standards for protecting and managing representative water heritage sites, promoting the digital preservation of water heritage, and encouraging local governments across the country to explore dedicated legislation.

　　(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)