Background of the Revitalization of the Fu-Nan Rivers

        Seven hundred years ago when Marco Polo (1254---1324, a famous Italian traveler and merchant) came to the old Chengdu city, the Fu-Nan Rivers were more than 800 meters wide. In 1970s, the irrigation area of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System was over ten million mus, resulting in the drying-up of the Fu-Nan Rivers. The banks of the rivers were enormously damaged and the riverbeds silted, leading to flood in the plain areas in the rainy season. Chengdu became one of the capital cities of flood control. The city was such one faced with flood control and water shortage. With the boom of population and economy, the problem of water shortage gradually became serious, drastically hindering the social and economic development of the city. There were more than 650 sewage outlets for industrial effluent and domestic sewage with a daily discharge capacity of over 600,000 tons. The two rivers that surround the city center became stinking sewers with a potent mix of domestic sewage and industrial effluent.