On the river-lake relationship of the middle Yangtze reaches

The Three Gorges Reservoir will provide a buffering period of 50-80 years, during which much of the silt will be trapped in the reservoir and scouring downstream may occur. We should utilize this period to work out an overall resolution to the problem. Construction of a water and silt diversion project in the Honghu Lake and surrounding areas may resolve this problem in the dangerous Chenglingji-Wuhan Segment of the Yangtze. Widening the canals connecting the Middle Yangtze and Han Rivers may function as a discharge-dividing channel of the Yangtze, which may prove to be beneficial.