Shanxi province managed to treat 18,350 square kilometers of land suffering from soil erosion during the 13th Five-Year period (2016-20), according to an announcement from Shanxi Provincial Department of Water Resources on Feb 5.

In the past five years, Shanxi expanded its water supply capacity by 549 million cubic meters, and the province's optimized water supply capacity reached 8.6 billion cu m.

The province invested 5.96 billion yuan ($921.48 million) in improving drinking water quality for 12.50 million rural people, including 1.82 million poor people. A five-level management system for rivers and lakes ranging from the village level to the provincial level has been established.

According to Chang Jianzhong, director of Shanxi Provincial Department of Water Resources, Shanxi will treat more than 3,666 sq km of land suffering from soil erosion this year. The province will also advance the construction of water network projects and engineering projects related to the Yellow River, helping to fulfill its role as the water storage center of North China and an ecological barrier for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.