A cultural festival is staged in Huzhou's Wuxing district on June 17 to mark the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival. [Photo/WeChat account: huzhoufabu]

The Taihu Lake Lougang Water Conservancy Scenic Area was officially inaugurated during a cultural festival held in Huzhou's Wuxing district on June 17 to mark the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival on June 22.

The newly-established scenic area was built around the Lougang irrigation and drainage system, which has stood for over two millennia, making it an engineering marvel.

Several hundred man-made rivers are located near Taihu Lake and can feed into it or drain excess water from it. Each one has a sluice linking the lake and the river to adjust water levels. When there is increased precipitation, the sluice is opened to discharge the extra water, and when precipitation decreases, it is closed.

Huzhou has built seven national water conservancy scenic spots, more than any other city in Zhejiang.

The city's water conservancy scenic areas received 18.65 million tourists in 2022 alone, generating 3 billion yuan ($419.83 million) in revenue.

In addition to the scenic area's inauguration, the festival also features a number of folk activities such as a dragon boat race and rice dumpling wrapping.