The first phase of a project involving eco-friendly lakes at the foot of Yulong Snow Mountain in Lijiang, Yunnan province, started in June and the management said that construction is going smoothly, Yunnan.cn reported.

The first phase, with an investment of 245 million yuan ($40.25 million) from Lijiang city and Yulong county governments, concerns a total of 74 artificial lakes, or Baisha pearl lakes, and construction of four of these lakes has almost been completed.

This first phase of the project also concerns the construction of pipelines, and the whole phase is scheduled to be completed by the first half of the next year. The total storage capacity of the 74 lakes is 1.33 million cubic meters, and these lakes involve depths ranging from 1.2 meters to 1.5 meters, with water mainly from Baishui River.

But some local residents worry that the lakes will be affected by a lack of water in dry seasons. Over the past five years, droughts have seriously deteriorated the environment of Baisha town, and Lijiang government thus attaches great importance to the protection of water sources.

Naxi culture is said to have originated in Baisha town and the town is seen as an important part of the Old Town of Lijiang, which was listed as a World Cultural Heritage in December 1997. The lakes will be the only water source of the Lijiang Dam area, and will benefit the local environment.

Edited by Niva Whyman