A whopping 130 representatives from 15 cities along the central canal of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, including Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou, and Pingdingshan, gathered in Nanyang, Henan province to attend the tourism sodality of the 15 cities on May 13, 2011.

The South-to-North Water Diversion Project is a major project to channel water from the Yangtze River in the southern part of the country to the north through three canals. The project, which authorities have been mulling over since the 1950s, was formally launched in 2002. Three 1,300km canals will be constructed in the western, central and eastern parts of China so that water from the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River will be brought to the north, where water supply is inadequate. With an estimated investment of 486 billion yuan, the three canals will be capable of transferring 44.8 billion cubic meters of water by 2050.

The 15 cities, including Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Baoding, Xingtai, Handan, Zhengzhou, Pingdingshan, Anyang, Hebi, Xinxiang, Jiaozuo, Xuchang, Nanyang, Shiyan, are abundant in tourism resources. With the help of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, the 15 cities forge an alley to promote tourism cooperatively. The sodality proposed a featured line along the central canal of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, and planned to carry out several preferential measures such as rewarding outstanding travel agency, making discount on the entrance tickets of the scenic spots, and encouraging to foster the environment-friendly tourism.