Because of the heavy rain for several days, the Xin'anjiang Hydropower Station, the first large-scale hydroelectric power station in the mainland to be designed, self-made and built by itself, was reopened to discharge floodwater, so as to ensure that the villages and cities upstream would not be further affected by the floods.
Since its construction in April 1957, this is the eighth time that the Xin'anjiang hydropower station has opened its flood gates, and the most recent one was on July 8, 2020, and it is also the first time that the dam has opened its flood gates through nine holes.
At that time, to build a large-scale hydropower station in New China, it was not only a technical and engineering construction difficulty, but also a huge migration of hundreds of thousands of Chun'an people who had to leave the land where their ancestors had lived for generations.
Back in February 1956, the state decided to build the Xin'anjiang Hydroelectric Power Station in Tongguan Gorge in Jiande, which was initially scheduled to start in June and be basically completed in April 1960. As a result, Jiande County has become the reservoir flooding area and flood area of the Xin'anjiang Hydropower Station, and has also become the main resettlement area for reservoir migrants.
At that time, more than 440,000 Chun'an people left their homeland in order to build the mainland's first Xin'anjiang hydropower station, which was designed, constructed and installed by themselves.
This is also the first large-scale reservoir migration operation after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and finally as many as 280,000 people left their hometowns and took root in the county's Xin'anjiang, Datong, Shouchang, Meicheng, Qiantan 5 districts, 828 production teams to build their own homes.
So why did the Xin'an River Hydropower Station have to be built, and why did it have to choose the Tongguan Canyon on the Xin'an River?
First of all, after the construction of the People's Republic of China, a lot of infrastructure needs to be built, among which the shortage of electricity for civil and industrial use is the most scarce. The installed power capacity of the whole of East China was less than 800,000 kilowatts, and the largest power plant at the time was the Yangshupu power plant in Shanghai, with an installed capacity of only 198,500 kilowatts in 1949.
This is far from being able to supply electricity to the Yangtze River Delta, so the construction of a large-scale hydropower project is of great significance to the entire East China region and even the whole country.
Secondly, based on the fact that there are many rivers in the south of the Yangtze River and are prone to cause various flood disasters in the rainy season, which has caused great impact and harm to the lives of citizens and industrial production in the upstream and downstream, the construction of a large-scale water conservancy and hydropower project that has both flood control and drought prevention functions, and can also solve the water supply and power supply of large cities such as Hangzhou and Shanghai downstream, and radiate the surrounding Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui has been personally approved by the national leaders, including Chairman Mao's personal decision-making and Premier Zhou's personal care and guidance. All of them have made the Xin'anjiang Water Conservancy Station get the fastest and largest support and promotion.
After more than two years of arduous construction, the Xin'anjiang Hydropower Station has been successfully completed and stored water, and so far there have been eight flood discharges, which has been effectively guaranteed for the upstream and downstream cities, and also provides a great power reserve and defense guarantee for the economic development of East China.
The Xin'anjiang Hydropower Station is undoubtedly a monument, reflecting the determination of the construction and development of New China at that time, and the great sacrifice made by hundreds of thousands of people who gave up their homes. #新安江水库 ##新安江水库开闸泄洪#