Morning view of Anfeng Tang took by Ni Jun, chairman of Huainan Photographers Association

By ZHAO Boyuan

Quebei Pond was built during the Spring and Autumn Period, around 6th century BC, and is still in operation. It is located in the middle reaches of the Huai River, Anhui province, China. History shows that Sun Shu'ao, the prime minister of the Chu state, took advantage of the low-lying terrain of the area to build the Quebei Pond.

A total of five water gates were built for Quebei Pond, controlling the amount of water by stone sluices, opened to divert and closed to store, and then passing through a meridian canal connecting the Pi River. This allowed Quebei Pond to irrigate tens of thousands of hectares of farmland. After the completion of the project, the grain output of Chu increased greatly, and "Zhuang" the king of Chu became one of the five hegemons in the Spring and Autumn Period. In recognition of Sun Shu'ao's exploits, the local people built an ancestral hall in his honor.

Quebei Pond was renamed Anfeng Tang after the Tang Dynasty, the name used to this day. After 1958, Anfeng Tang was included into the Pi-Shi-Hang irrigation district, and was transformed into a medium-sized re-regulation reservoir, with more than 500 water canals controlling the irrigation and drainage of 44,666 hectares of farmland.

Relying on the abundant water resources of Anfeng Tang, Banqiao town in Shou county, Anhui province, has adopted a set of one-grass and one-rice planting model since the 1990s, which has greatly improved the economic benefits of local villagers. Shou county is now the largest mat grass planting base in the country. In 2015, Quebei Pond was recognized as a World Heritage Irrigation Structure by the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage.