The Sanmenxia Dam on the Yellow River was the first of its kind. It was built in the 1960s to separate two landforms along the river, deserts and plains. The goal was to prevent midstream sediment from flushing downwards, but it incurred problems over the years. CGTN's Zhao Yunfei shows us what's being done now.

Unlike many of the world's other river dams, such facilities on the Yellow River have to consider thick, heavy sediment. Passing through the Loess Plateau, the river carries mud and sand downstream.

At the Sanmenxia Dam, one of the major subjects that Hu Shujun and his team are working on is how to remove sludge in front of the dike. Sediment deposits have long been an obstacle, but the situation is getting better.

HU SHUJUN FACILITY ENGINEER, SANMENXIA DAM "The environment has changed a lot here. In the past, the Yellow River was very muddy, even outside of flood season. Now it's clearer. And the riverbed from the upstream no longer rises."

The Sammenxia Dam was put into use in the 1960s to fix issues of river bursting and division. Shortly after it successfully reduced downstream flooding, new problems arose upstream. Vast amounts of sand blocked the dam hole and raised the riverbed.

ZHAO XIANRONG YELLOW RIVER CONSERVANCY COMMISSION "Back then, Sammenxia's builders overestimated the effect that the dam could have on soil and water conservation. The dam was originally designed to keep the thick water in a reservoir to dissipate the sand, and then drain the clear water. But the deposits threatened the upper-stream plain. So we changed our strategy, to release the river water with sand all together in a designated period of time."

Therefore, Samenxia has turned to a hydroelectric dam.

And the task of sand control was assigned to a brand-new dam located 130 kilometers down the river, the Xiaolangdi Dam.

ZHAO YUNFEI XIAOLANGDI RESERVOIR "The Yellow River is one of the most sediment-laden waterways in the world. The function of the dam facility behind me is to control the water-to-sand ratio at the downstream river channel, in order to prevent flooding. For 20 years, tourists have flocked to this site to see the water being released from the Xioalangdi Reservoir."

The reservoirs at the Yellow River's dams also play a key role in distributing the water. The river's downstream areas, Henan and Shandong, are two densely populated provinces.

Together, they use up about 30 percent of the water resources. But the majority of source water comes from upstream. Therefore, a coordinated cross-provincial water distribution system is needed.

KE SUJUAN YELLOW RIVER CONSERVANCY COMMISSION "The water conservancy project can help us reserve the river water from the rainy years and supply it in the drought years, to improve the utilization of resources."

The dam and reservoir facilities can also help to preserve the regional ecosystems, as water control has prevented the drying up of the great river. Zhao Yunfei, CGTN, Henan Province.