Ｗａｔｅｒ：Ｔｈｅ Ｕｌｔｉｍａｔｅ ＳｏｌＵｔｉｏｎ

ＬＩ　ＳＯＮＧＢＡＩ＆ＧＡＯ　ＹＡＮ

WATER is the source oflife．and without it lifeCOUld not survive．De-spite Chinas naturalwealth，it has always had a serious wa-ter shortage，and as a result water hasoccupied a special place in the Chineseimagination since ancient times．Yu theGreat，a legendary figure who lived dur-ing the 2l st celltury B.C．，became a na-tional hero for his engineering successin subduing floods．Many impressivewater conservancy projects have beenbuilt in China throught the centuries，such as the 2，000-year-old Dujiangyanreservoir，and the Grand Canal duringthe Sui Dynasty．In spite of these mag-nificent feats．however．China contin-ues to suffer periodic shortages，whichseriously hinders its progress．