This is the seventh time that China has re-routed water from the Yellow River into Tianjin, an important economic center in north China, since 1972.

The project will channel water at the Weishan Sluice Gate in east China's Shandong province for 440 km to Tianjin at Jiuxuan Gate. Approximately 350 million cubic meters of water will eventually be diverted into Tianjin's water system over more than three months.

Tianjin has been plagued by serious dry spells for seven straight years and the municipal government has taken a series of conservation measures and reduced daily water consumption from 2.2 million cubic meters to 1.51 million cubic meters.

The Jiuxuan Gate in Tianjin area received over 2 billion cubic meters of water from the Yellow River between 1972 and 2000.