The largest desert reservoir in Asia, Hongyashan Reservoir, in northwest China's Gansu Province, restored 32 million cubic meters of water after dried up for the first time last year.

With a storage capacity of 99.3 million cubic meters of water, Hongyashan Reservoir was built in 1958 in Minqin County of the province. When in full capacity, the reservoir can irrigate nearly60,000 hectares of farmland.

However, rare rainfall and ecological deterioration led to the complete drying of the reservoir in June 2004, for the first time since it was built.

The local government has taken every possible means to restore water in the reservoir, including diverting water from the Yellow River, China's second largest river, and regulating water use in the upper and middle reaches of Shiyanghe, a major water source of the reservoir.

Minqin County is one of the major places where sand storm originate in northwest China, and the reservoir plays a vital role in preventing desertification in the locality, according to sand control experts.

Source: Xinhua