Inheritance significance of Lanzhou waterwheel

On both sides of the Yellow River in Lanzhou, waterwheels are widely used. When the water rises in summer and autumn, the waterwheel rotates day and night, which is quite spectacular. Due to the different irrigation amount, the size of the waterwheel is also different. Large waterwheels can irrigate 600-700 mu, and small waterwheels can irrigate 200-300 mu. The rotation of the waterwheel generally begins when the water rises in March and April every year and ends when it falls into the water in winter.

At that time, the waterwheel was used from Guide in Qinghai to Zhongwei in Ningxia via Lanzhou. According to statistics, there are 350 or 60 waterwheels. Now the waterwheel has been replaced by irrigation machinery, and only a few waterwheels are left, which not only embellishes the scenery on both sides of the Yellow River, but also leaves us with the footprints of the progress of the times, making people look back and care for the present.

The Yellow River Waterwheel is an important part of the Yellow River culture, which embodies the creativity of the Chinese nation and provides a witness for the study of agricultural civilization and water conservancy history in China. The invention of the waterwheel laid the foundation for people to live and work in peace and contentment and social harmony and stability.

1952, there were still 252 waterwheels along the Yellow River in Lanzhou. Since the wide application of electric irrigation technology, the number of waterwheels has decreased year by year, and the producers are short of successors, facing an endangered situation. It has become an urgent and important task to protect the production technology of large waterwheels in the Yellow River.