The city of Dujiangyan, in Sichuan, boasts a famous irrigation system, which is the largest of its kind in China. Much of the area's irrigation equipment was severely damaged in the quake. But after 11 days of repairs, the water supply was restored today.

This is Renming canal, located in Pengzhou City in Sichuan Province.

Today, the gate has re-opened, a sign that the water supply of the Dujiangyan irrigation system has been restored.

The irrigated area in Dujiangyan exceeds 660,000 hectares, that is one third of the total irrigated area in Sichuan.

The severe earthquake caused damage which shut down dozens of sluice gates. Staff worked around the clock and have now started the manual operation of water supply.

Liu Daoguo, director general of Dujiangyan Bureau of Management, said, "In an emergency,we have to take temporary measures to ensure the water supply. The next step is to clear up all the irrigation network and re-plan the whole area, in order to build up the system."

Staff have also been supervising the quality of the water. Their goal is to ensure the water is safe for people living in the irrigated area.

Li Zhiqin, deputy Section Chief of Dujiangyan Bureau of Management, said, "We have studied the water samples collected at Baopingkou in Dujiangyan city, the Chengdu Waterworks and the Qingbai River. The results are normal, and there are no signs of contamination."

(CCTV May 26, 2008)