On January 28, 2026, the latest phase of the Central Yunnan Water Diversion Project commenced construction. This is part of a super project, also known as the ‘Underground River‘, consisting of over 600 kilometers of underground tunnels, crossing the Hengduan Mountains, and diverting the water from the Jinsha River to cities and farmland on the plateau.
The Central Yunnan region is one of the most severely drought-prone regions in China. In 2017, its per capita water resources amounted to only 41 % the minimum “warning line” for water availability, indicating an extreme water scarcity situation. Between 1950 and 2014 alone, the Central Yunnan region experienced severe drought for over 20 years, with droughts lasting longer and causing increasingly severe losses. The extreme shortage of water resources had become the most significant bottleneck constraining the sustainable development of the Central Yunnan region, and the need for improved water resources had become increasingly urgent and intense.
Construction of t he Central Yunnan Water Diversion Project officially commenced on August 4, 2017 involving a total investment of approximately US $17 billion. It is a flagship project among 172 major water conservancy and water supply projects approved by China’s State Council. It is also the largest and most costly water resources allocation project in Southwest China and one of the largest water diversion projects under construction in China.
The underground river flows through mountains and valleys
The total length of the entire project line exceeds 664 kilometers, with over 90% being tunnels and underground engineering, making it a water supply artery built underground. Among them, the longest tunnel is over 60 kilometers long and the construction difficulty is extremely high.
The project requires crossing more than ten geological fault zones, overcoming complex risks such as high-pressure water influx and rock burst, and the technical challenges are no less than building an “underground Great Wall”. Its core task is to divert water from the relatively abundant Jinsha River and transport it to the water scarce core areas of central Yunnan, such as Kunming, Chuxiong, and Dali.
Not only does it attract water
The direct goal of the project is to solve the resource water shortage problem in the central Yunnan region. The region is home to nearly one-third of Yunnan Province’s population and nearly half of its total economy, but its per capita water resources are less than one-third of the national average, and it has long faced the dilemma of “water flowing at the bottom of the valley and people worrying on the mountains”.
After the completion of the project, it is expected to add nearly 3.5 billion cubic meters of water supply to the central Yunnan region every year, equivalent to the construction of dozens of large reservoirs, which can effectively ensure the drinking water safety of millions of people and irrigate millions of acres of farmland, providing solid water resources support for regional economic and social development.
A lifeline to the future
The benefits of this project far exceed the water diversion itself.
Firstly, through cross basin water transfer, it helps to restore the ecological flow of local rivers, alleviate the problem of groundwater over exploitation caused by water shortage, promote regional water ecological restoration, and practice the sustainable development concept of “water determines cities and production”.
Secondly, its design concept of “focusing on tunnels and following the trend” minimizes the impact on the surface ecological environment and the scale of land acquisition and demolition, reflecting the wisdom of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.
Finally, the engineering construction itself will effectively drive the development of related industries such as equipment manufacturing, materials, and technical services, and cultivate a large number of professional and technical skills, injecting momentum into the long-term development of Yunnan. It is not only a water transmission line, but also a strategic lifeline to ensure the future development of Yunnan.
Source, Seetao, January 1, 2026. https://www.seetaoe.com/details/257881.html
For full project detail see: https://baike.baidu.com/en/item/Central%20Yunnan%20Water%20Diversion%20Project/1510832
