LANZHOU -- Liujiaxia reservoir, a major reservoir on the upper reaches of the Yellow River, boosted its water outflow from 430 cubic meters to 800 cubic meters per second starting from Monday to assist spring farming in the river basin.

A view of Liujiaxia reservoir on the upper reaches of the Yellow River in Yongjing county, Linxia, Gansu province. [Photo/VCG]

Each spring, the reservoir provides up to 1.2 billion cubic meters of water for agricultural production downstream, mainly in Gansu Province and the Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions, irrigating an area of more than 16 million mu (about 1 million hectares) of farmland.

On Monday, the water level in the reservoir stood close to its designed capacity of 1,735 meters above sea level, fully prepared for replenishing water for agricultural irrigation and ecological protection in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River.

The Yellow River originates from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and runs through the Loess Plateau. The Yellow River basin is deemed "the cradle of Chinese civilization."

China has adopted ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin as a major national strategy. The river is expected to play a crucial role in striking a balance between environmental protection and economic growth.