HUNG-CH'I CANAL

WadeGiles romanization Hung-ch'i Ch', Pinyin Hongqi Qu, English Red Flag Canal canal and irrigation system in northern Honan and in Shansi provinces, China, constructed in 196069 to irrigate the poor and infertile area of Lin-hsien in the foothills of the T'ai-hang Shan (mountains) west of An-yang. To relieve this area's chronic shortage of water, the canal was constructed for 105 mi (170 km) across the mountains to a large dam on the Chang Ho (river) in Shansi. Construction of the canal was an engineering feat involving cutting the channel along sheer cliff faces and constructing 42 tunnels and many aqueducts, some of considerable length. Since 1965, when the main canal was completed, Lin-hsien has been linked with a system of drainage channels and reservoirs and with more than 600 mi of irrigation canals. The system irrigates some 100,000 ac (40,000 ha); it is harnessed by 14 hydroelectric stations that supply power to local coal-fueled industries, producing cement, fertilizer, iron, and steel for local consumption.