LMC reporters look into Yunnan practice for water sufficiency

More than 20 journalists from the media organizations of the six Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) countries and beyond gathered in southwest Yunnan's Cangyuan Wa autonomous county on October 26, looking into local practices for water sufficiency.

Wengding village of the Wa people

Cangyuan is so named because the county sits at the source of a tributary of the Lancang River, and through visiting the Mengsheng waterworks, as well as the traditional villages of Bange, Bangba and Wengding, the international reporters learned in detail the Yunnan experiences on rural water conservancy.

The reporters were told that Yunnan is located right between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, and Cangyuan county is part of the watershed that connects the two oceans in water resources. Standing on a Wa cultural square near the China-Myanmar border, the reporters had a good view of the Wa mountains in Shan State, north Myanmar.

A weaving lady at the Wengding village

LMC reporters visit the Wengding village with regular water sprinkling.

To insure sufficient drinking-water supply in the China-Myanmar border area, Cangyuan has invested 147.7 million yuan in water-supply security over the past three years, while 876.2 million yuan was devoted to integrating the urban-rural water supply system and solving the problem of uneven distribution of water resources in the border areas.

In Banhong township of Cangyuan, the reporters were impressed by a lush riverside area, and they later learned that it is the Nangun national nature reserve near the middle section of the China-Myanmar border. With a forest coverage of 93.8%, the reserve is home to rare plants and animals, such as the giant bird-catching spider and the Asian elephant.

LMC reporters visit a Wa cultural square near the China-Myanmar border.

LMC reporters visit a rice field near the China-Myanmar border.

The Nangun river is a tributary of the Nujiang-Salween River, with its source tracing back to the western mountainous area of Cangyuan county. The river runs for 56 kilometers in China before flowing into Myanmar. By setting up nature reserves for the protection of river sources, Cangyuan contributed to lucid water in the Lancang-Mekong River basin.

The international media tour was sponsored by the department for international cooperation and sci-tech exchanges of Chinese Ministry of Water Resources, and it is hosted by the Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation Center and others.

Reporting by Ran Xiulan (YICC); Trans-editing by Wang Shixue