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49-406: The policy covers six provinces ( Gansu , Guizhou , Qinghai , Shaanxi , Sichuan and Yunnan ), five autonomous regions ( Guangxi , Inner Mongolia , Ningxia , Tibet and Xinjiang ), and one municipality ( Chongqing ). Despite making up 71.4% of mainland China , this region holds only 28.8% of its population (as of 2002) and 19.9% of its total economic output (as of 2015). In 1978, under

98-572: A governor . The People's Government is answerable to both the State Council and the Provincial People's Congress. The provincial branch of the CCP has a Provincial Party Congress every five years, and elects a Standing Committee to exercise its authority when not in session. The Provincial Party Secretary is the de facto most important position in the province. The first provinces were created in

147-662: A fraction of the total flow of the Yangtze River to northern China. According to local hydrologists , the entire flow of the Yangtze at the point of its discharge into the East China Sea is, on average, 956 km per year; the annual flow does not fall below approximately 600 km per year, even in the driest years. As the project progresses, the amount of water to be diverted to the north will increase from 8.9 km /year to 10.6 km /year to 14.8 km /year. Water from

196-548: A particularly pernicious effect of the Western Development Program. Despite the fact that Guizhou received 53.3 billion yuan in infrastructure construction in 2001 alone, more than the total amount given by the Ninth Five-Year Plan (1995–2000), its foreign capital declined from US$ 40.9 million in 1999 to $ 29.29 million in 2001, an astonishing 31% decline, reaching its lowest point since 1997. Contrary to what

245-445: A prescribed allotment of 60 yuan per mu by the central policy. A further complication is farmer dissatisfaction when the government fails to deliver on its contract, since the local government usually bases compensation on actual production value, resulting in compensation between 20 and 50 yuan, plus a 300 jin appropriation of grain. Farmers who are temporarily benefiting from the compensation will soon rely on governmental subsidy once

294-621: A substantial growth in foreign investment in the western regions, from US$ 1,837.35 million in 1999 to $ 1,922.19 million in 2001. However, not all areas in the western region shared in this progress. While foreign direct investment in Chongqing grew US$ 17.56 million between 1999 and 2001 (from US$ 238.93 million to $ 256.49 million), foreign investment in Guizhou, Guangxi and Ningxi declined significantly, dropping about US$ 19.71, $ 250.96 million, and $ 34.54 million respectively. The situation in Guizhou reveals

343-399: A sufficient level of development, they should help the interior regions develop. Jiang Zemin sought to address the regional imbalances, holding the belief that underdevelopment made the western region at risk for social discontent and foreign interference. In March 1999, he proposed a developmental strategy for the western region at the 9th National People's Congress . He would elaborate on

392-492: A system of reservoirs, tunnels, and natural rivers. In 2008, construction costs for the eastern and central routes was estimated to be 254.6 billion yuan ($ 37.44 billion). The government had budgeted only 53.87 billion yuan ($ 7.9 billion), less than a quarter of the total cost, at that time. This included 26 billion from the central government and special accounts, 8 billion from local governments, and almost 20 billion in loans. As of 2008, around 30 billion yuan had been spent on

441-652: Is expected to receive 1 km /year. The Eastern route is not expected to supply Beijing, which is to be supplied by the central route. The completed line will be slightly over 1,152 km (716 miles) long, equipped with 23 pumping stations with a power capacity of 454 megawatts. An important element of the Eastern Route will be a tunnel crossing under the Yellow River, on the border of Dongping and Dong'e counties of Shandong Province. The crossing will consist of two 9.3 m diameter horizontal tunnels, positioned 70 m under

490-673: The 15th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party . For these purposes, the western region is defined as Sichuan, Gansu, Guizhou, Yunnan, Qinghai, Shaanxi, the municipality of Chongqing, Ningxia, Xinjiang, and Tibet. The main components of the strategy include the development of infrastructure (transport, hydropower plants, energy, and telecommunications), enticement of foreign investment , increased efforts on ecological protection (such as reforestation ), promotion of education , and retention of talent flowing to richer provinces. The western development bureau affiliated to

539-668: The South-to-North Water Diversion Project , is a multi-decade infrastructure mega-project in China that aims to channel 44.8 cubic kilometers (44.8 billion cubic meters) of fresh water each year from the Yangtze River in southern China to the more arid and industrialized north through three canal systems: Mao Zedong discussed the idea for a mass engineering project as an answer to China's water problems as early as 1952. He reportedly said, "there's plenty of water in

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588-736: The State Council released a list of 10 major projects to launch in 2008, with a combined budget of 436 billion yuan (64.12 billion U.S. dollars). These projects included new railway lines connecting Guiyang and Guangzhou , Lanzhou and Chongqing , Kashgar and Hotan in Xinjiang; highways between Wanyuan and Dazhou in Sichuan Province, Shuikou and Duyun in Guizhou Province; airport expansion projects in Chengdu, Chongqing and Xi’an. They also include

637-767: The Ying River in Yuzhou ( 34°11′05″N 113°26′18″E  /  34.18472°N 113.43833°E  / 34.18472; 113.43833 ); and the Yellow River northeast of Zhengzhou ( 34°52′55″N 113°13′14″E  /  34.88194°N 113.22056°E  / 34.88194; 113.22056 ); as well as its entrance into the southwestern suburbs of Beijing at the Juma River in Zhuozhou , Hebei ( 39°30′26.3″N 115°47′30.2″E  /  39.507306°N 115.791722°E  / 39.507306; 115.791722 ). The whole project

686-728: The Yuan dynasty , and have remained one of the most stable forms of Chinese government since then. They were created to help the Imperial court manage local county governments, which were too numerous and far-flung to be managed directly. The number of provinces grew steadily during subsequent dynasties, reaching 28 by the time of the Republic of China . During the Warlord Era , provinces became largely or completely autonomous and exercised significant national influence. Province-level units proliferated and under

735-557: The 307 km-long northern stretch of the central route was completed at a cost of $ 2 billion. Water in that stretch of the canal does not come from the Han River but from reservoirs in Hebei Province, south of Beijing. Farmers and industries in Hebei had to cut back on water consumption to allow for water to be transferred to Beijing. On mapping services, one can see the canal's intake at

784-699: The Danjiangkou Reservoir ( 32°40′26″N 111°42′32″E  /  32.67389°N 111.70889°E  / 32.67389; 111.70889 ); its crossing of the Baihe River north of Nanyang , Henan ( 33°6′41″N 112°37′30″E  /  33.11139°N 112.62500°E  / 33.11139; 112.62500 ); the Shahe River in Lushan County ( 33°42′49″N 112°56′40″E  /  33.71361°N 112.94444°E  / 33.71361; 112.94444 );

833-600: The Three Gorges Dam to Danjiangkou Reservoir. Construction of this project, named the Yinjiangbuhan tunnel, was announced in July 2022. It is set to take an estimated ten years to complete. Another major challenge was the resettlement of around 330,000 people who lived near Danjiangkou Reservoir at its former lower elevation and along the route of the project. On 18 October 2009, Chinese officials began to relocate residents from

882-577: The West's economic development. While massive investment has been accompanied by a boost in GDP across all western regions, the broader policy has failed to achieve its goal of eliminating the economic gap between China's East and West. Initiatives encouraging Chinese from wealthier and more crowded regions of China to move to the less crowded western regions has resulted in population growth in several cities, most notably Qinghai with its increase of 12.6%. Nevertheless,

931-404: The West. Farmland conversion to forest and grassland is the dominant strategy for this effort, targeting specifically the regions crucial to the Yangtze's protection. In Sichuan, the government aims to protect the 19.23 million hectares of existing forest and plant an additional 2.93 million hectares of new forest to diminish the amount of silt flowing into the Yangtze. Around 20,000 mu of farmland

980-472: The World Bank in China. Although the project seems to be going successfully, it creates a potential fiscal burden for the government. Massive farmland conversion requires a tremendous amount of funding for resettling the farmers. In addition, to compensate farmers for their loss in agricultural profit, the state has committed to supplying them with grains and funds for planting trees and grass. This results in

1029-616: The Yangtze River will be drawn into the canal in Jiangdu , where a giant 400 m /s (12.6 km /year if operated continuously) pumping station was built in the 1980s. The water will then be pumped by stations along the Grand Canal and through a tunnel under the Yellow River and down an aqueduct to reservoirs near Tianjin. Construction on the Eastern route officially began on 27 December 2002, and water

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1078-467: The Yangtze, to Beijing. This project involved raising the height of the Danjiangkou Dam by increasing the dam's crest elevation from 162 m to 176.6 m above sea level . This addition to the dam's height allows the water level in the reservoir to rise from 157 m to 170 m above sea level and thus permits the flow into the water diversion canal to begin downhill, pulled by gravity into the lower elevation of

1127-561: The areas of Hubei and Henan provinces that would be affected by the project. The completed route of the Grand Aqueduct is about 1,264 km long and initially provided 9.5 km of water annually. By 2030, the project is slated to increase this transfer to 12–13 km per year. Although the transfer will be lower in dry years, it is projected that it will be able to provide a flow of at least 6.2 km /year at all times with 95% confidence. Industries are prohibited from locating on

1176-564: The bed of the Yellow River. Due to the topography of the Yangtze Plain and the North China Plain , pumping stations will be needed to raise water from the Yangtze to the Yellow River crossing; farther north, the water will be flowing downhill in an aqueduct. The central route, known colloquially as the Grand Aqueduct, runs from Danjiangkou Reservoir on the Han River , a tributary of

1225-501: The building of hydropower stations, coal mines, gas and oil transmission tube lines as well as public utilities projects in western regions. The Qinghai-Tibet railway project set a milestone in Tibet's local development, connecting Tibet with central China. Prior to its completion, Tibet could not be reached by railway. The Big Western Line is a proposal for diverting water from the upstream sections of six rivers in southwestern China to

1274-403: The canals. The central route crosses the North China Plain . The canal was constructed to create a continuous downhill flow all the way from the Danjiangkou Reservoir to Beijing without the need for pumping stations. The greatest engineering challenge of the route was building two tunnels under the Yellow River to carry the canal's flow. Construction on the central route began in 2004. In 2008,

1323-459: The construction of the eastern (5.66 billion yuan) and central routes (24.82 billion yuan). Costs of the projects have increased significantly. The project required resettling at least 330,000 people in central China. Critics have warned the water diversion will cause environmental damage, and some villagers said officials had forced them to sign agreements to relocate. In 2013, Radio Free Asia reported that fish farmers on Dongping Lake , on

1372-685: The dry areas of northern China through a system of reservoirs, tunnels and natural rivers. Some of the southwestern rivers include the Mekong , the Yarlung Tsangpo and the Salween . The Big Western Line is a possible element of the South–North Water Transfer Project . The project was one of the most controversial proposals as of 2006. As part of the program, China's five large state-owned hydropower companies planned, underwrote, and built

1421-531: The early People's Republic there were over 50. Political boundaries are, in part, established to counterbalance the influence of economic factors. For instance, the Yangtze Delta is divided among the provinces of Zhejiang , Jiangsu , and Anhui . This division ensures that economic strength is distributed, preventing any single region from potentially overpowering the state. Big Western Line The South–North Water Transfer Project , also translated as

1470-434: The economic growth rate of China's East continues to exceed that of the West, causing the western share of domestic product to continue to fall. The West's contribution to the GDP decreased from 20.88% in 1990 to 17.13% in 2000. Relative levels of GDP per capita in the West decreased from 73.30% in 1990 to 60.87% in 2000. In 1990, Shanghai's per capita GDP was 7.3 times that of Guizhou, the poorest province in China; by 2000,

1519-475: The energy sector. About 75% of Guizhou's foreign investment was channeled into manufacturing and 15% to real estate development. Because the campaign's economic program is strongly central planned, the campaign has actually discouraged foreign investment, working against its original intent. Foreseeing significant environmental impacts in the massive infrastructure development program, the state highly publicizes environmental preservation in its campaign to open up

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1568-1477: The environmental project questionable. Furthermore, while the environmental project is critically emphasized in the campaign, very little has been discussed on the impact of intensified coal extraction, increased thermal plant operation, reservoir inundation, and transportation and transmission line construction, all of which create a more detrimental impact to the environment that the environmental program can compensate for. Province of China Provinces Autonomous regions Sub-provincial autonomous prefectures Autonomous prefectures Leagues (Aimag) (abolishing) Prefectures Provincial-controlled cities Provincial-controlled counties Autonomous counties County-level cities Districts Ethnic districts Banners (Hoxu) Autonomous banners Shennongjia Forestry District Liuzhi Special District Wolong Special Administrative Region Workers and peasants districts Ethnic townships Towns Subdistricts Subdistrict bureaux Sum Ethnic sum County-controlled districts County-controlled district bureaux (obsolete) Management committees Town-level city Areas Villages · Gaqa · Ranches Village Committees Communities Capital cities New areas Autonomous administrative divisions National Central Cities History: before 1912 , 1912–49 , 1949–present Provinces ( Chinese : 省 ; pinyin : Shěng ) are

1617-493: The executive, a Provincial People's Congress with legislative powers, and a parallel provincial branch of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that elects a Party Secretary and a Provincial Standing Committee . Provinces are the most common form of province-level governments. The legislative bodies of the provinces are the Provincial People's Congresses. The executive branch is the Provincial People's Government, led by

1666-494: The figure had grown to 12.9 times. Evidence from the China Statistical Yearbook also confirms the increasing economic gap between China's West and East, indicating that the east-to-west GDP ratio increased from 2.98 in 1980 to 4.33 in 2000. Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative built upon the strategies of Jiang's Western development efforts. Since the introduction of economic reform and open-door policy in 1978,

1715-558: The leadership of Deng Xiaoping , the People's Republic of China began to reform its economy by changing from a command economy to a market economy . The coastal regions of eastern China benefited greatly from these reforms, and their economies rapidly grew. In contrast, regions in the western half of China lagged behind economically. In 1988, Deng described the strategic concept of "two overall situations," stating that while coastal areas should speed their economic development, once they reached

1764-620: The majority of dams on the Lancang River and its tributaries. Foreign-invested enterprises in the west region operating in specified industries received a preferential corporate income tax rate of 15% as well as 50% for three years after graduating from the basic tax holiday. Foreign enterprises in transportation , electricity , water conservancy, mail services, and broadcasting had a full tax exemption for 2 years and 50% tax relief for an additional three years afterwards. China's attempts to develop its western regions have had varied effects on

1813-505: The most numerous type of province-level divisions in the People's Republic of China (PRC). There are currently 22 provinces administered by the PRC and one province that is claimed, but not administered, which is Taiwan , currently administered by the Republic of China (ROC). The local governments of Chinese provinces consists of a Provincial People's Government headed by a governor that acts as

1862-516: The plan in June 1999, during which the phrase great western development was used, marking the start of the policy. In a development symposium in Xi'an that month, Jiang stated that increasing development in the western and central regions of China was a matter of political and social significance, as well as economic significance. Premier Zhu Rongji visited the western region to gather western officials' views of

1911-660: The plan. Consequently, the State Planning Commission drafted an early plan for the proposal before submitting it to the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in November 1999. A Leadership Group for Western China Development (西部地区开发领导小组) was created by the State Council in January 2000, led by Zhu. The plan for western development was formally put forward during the fifth plenary session of

1960-460: The project's eastern route, in Shandong, claimed that the polluted Yangtze River water entering the lake was killing their fish. Subsequent scientific research showed that the water diversion improved the water environment of Dongping Lake. Scientists have been concerned that the project will increase water evaporation loss. The exact amount of evaporation loss is not known, but it may be improved in

2009-542: The province's economy through mega-projects such as Guizhou's west–east electricity transfer project. The strengthening of central control over the economy has eroded the trust of foreign investors. In the case of Guizhou, while the Chinese central government intended to attract foreign investment in the power sector through the West-East Electricity Transfer Project, only 5% of foreign investment entered

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2058-494: The reservoir's watershed to keep its water drinkable . There are long-standing plans to divert about 200 cubic kilometers of water per year from the upstream sections of six rivers in southwestern China, including the Mekong (Lancang River), the Yarlung Zangbo (called Brahmaputra further downstream), and the Salween (Nu River), to the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, and ultimately to the dry areas of northern China through

2107-471: The south, not much water in the north. If at all possible, borrowing some water would be good". Construction of the project began in 2003. By 2014, more than $ 79 billion had been spent, making it one of the most ambitious and expensive engineering projects in human history. The Eastern Route Project (ERP), or Jiangdu Hydro Project, consists of an upgrade to the Grand Canal and will be used to divert

2156-495: The state had intended, the West-East Electricity Transfer Project in Guizhou only assured the continued increase in foreign investment on the coast, as most of the electricity generated in Guizhou was transmitted to Guangdong. Tim Oakes, associate professor of geography at the University of Colorado at Boulder, argues that the decline of foreign investment in certain western regions is a consequence of Beijing's attempt to recentralize

2205-467: The tree-planting project is completed. 81,000 tons of grain, 154 million yuan in cash subsidies and 266 million yuan for tree saplings to almost 800,000 farming households have already been spent in Shaanxi. If the provincial government decides to honor its commitment for another 5–8 years, it will cost a total of 11.7 billion yuan in grain and cash subsidies. The heavy financial cost makes the sustainability of

2254-494: The western region has been in a disadvantageous economic position because it promises a less lucrative return to the investors than its eastern competitors. Therefore, one of the major objectives of the Open Up the West initiative was to bring in foreign investment by creating a more stable investing environment through infrastructure construction. This was a success for the western development project at some level, for statistics shows

2303-489: Was converted in Guizhou in 2001, a key region for Yangtze preservation. In Shaanxi, 571,000 hectares of farmland and 427,000 hectares of wasteland were converted to forest or grass between 1999 and 2002. Another 280,000 hectares of farmland and the same expanse of wasteland were converted in 2003. China's environmental program in the west has made China “one of a few countries in the world that have been rapidly increasing their forest cover,” according to David Dollar, director of

2352-409: Was expected to be completed around 2010. Final completion was on 12 December 2014, to allow for more environmental protection along the route. One problem was the impact of the project on the Han River below the Danjiangkou Dam, from which approximately one-third of the route's total water is diverted. One long-term solution being considered is to build another canal to divert water from the reservoir at

2401-480: Was expected to reach Tianjin by 2013. However, in addition to construction delays, water pollution has affected the viability of the route. Initially, the route was expected to provide water for the provinces of Shandong , Jiangsu , and Hebei , with trial operations to begin in mid-2013. Water started arriving in Shandong in 2014, and it is expected one cubic kilometer of water will have been transferred in 2018. As of October 2017, water had reached Tianjin. Tianjin

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