Houtao Bada Qu

　　Houtao Bada Qu (eight major canals in Houtao), located in the current Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, are eight canals that diverted water from the Yellow River to the Wujia River. (Qu means canal.) The canals were dug during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), mostly by private organizations.

　　The eight canals are (from west to east): Yongji Qu (or Chanjin Qu), Gangmu Qu (or Gangji Qu), Fengji Qu, Shahe Qu (or Yonghe Qu), Yihe Qu, Tongji Qu (or Laogou Qu), Changji Qu (or Changsheng Qu) and Tabu Qu (or Tabu He).

　　During the tens of years after completion, the canals could not divert much water for irrigation in the area as the private organizations failed to keep the canals in good shape. But in 1903, the government of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) bought all the canals and all the lands along the canals and revamped all the canals. As a result, more land along the canals could be irrigated.