Survey showed China's rural water resources stood at 128 million kilowatts, according to the Ministry of Water Resources on Saturday.

The figure was 44 percent up, or 89 million kilowatts more, than the figure in a survey done in 1980, said Tian Zhongxing, head of the rural hydropower development department under the Ministry of Water Resources.

Tian made the remarks at an industry conference on rural water resources held in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province.

The latest figure came from a survey launched in 2006 across the country, involving 16,572 rivers in Chinese mainland, including 5,095 rivers with water resources above 10,000 kilowatts.

(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2009)