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Mr. Donghai Guan is a Professor, Head of Water Resources Research Department, Xinjiang Institute of Water Resources Research. His areas of expertise include hydrology, irrigation and drainage engineering. He has extensive practical experience in efficient use of water in agriculture. He has made a long-range research on karez in Turpan area and gained deep insights into both utilization and protection of the karez system. His project on the protection and utilization of Xinjiang karez received an award for its excellent engineering design. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Xinjiang University, China.
The water harvesting and underground transmission system called a karez in the Uygur language, or kan er jing in Mandarin, has provided sustainable water supplies in some communities of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang), China for over 2,000 years. These water systems have also been used in countries in North Africa and West Asia, as well as other Asian countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan.
