Given to the special importance of water in farming production, China has always regarded water as a major factor in policy making. The agricultural history is in fact a history of fighting against natural disasters of both drought and flooding. As far back as 200 BC, a great water conservancy work of Dujiang Yan irrigation system was built up. Since 1949 when the new Chinese government was set up, it has always put the problem of agricultural water use on the top of its agenda. The government has implemented many water conservancy projects to harness rivers, control and store flood, promote irrigation and improve saline and alkaline soil. Set up are over 80 000 reservoirs, more than 3 million pump wells, nearly 6 000 pieces of irrigated areas with more than 10 000 mu each. Irrigated farmland has expanded to 50 million, including 33 million ha of stable high-yield field in spite of drought or flooding. Development of farmland water conservancy has played a critical role to ensure successive bumper harvests and 500 million tons of grain production, making it possible to feed 22% of the world population with less than 10% of the world farmland. It may be said that there would be no prosperous agriculture without development of agricultural water conservancy.
