Photo Slideshow: China’s South-North Water Transfer Project

Taken together, the three lines are an audacious strategy to solve the increasingly dire confrontation between rising energy demand in a nation that is steadily getting drier.

It is no surprise that ever since construction began in 2002, the South-North Water Transfer Project has generated a strong current of public comment. China’s government authorities insist that the project, now estimated to cost $US 62 billion, is essential to developing the cities and energy-rich provinces of northern and western China, the fastest growing regions in the country, which are running out of water.

Aaron Jaffe — who has reported from China, Australia, and the United States — is a Chicago-based reporter and photographer for Circle of Blue.