Panjiakou Reservoir in Hebei

Panjiakou Reservoir in Tangshan is located between Qianxi County(迁西县) in Tangshan and Kuancheng County(宽城满族自治县) in Chengde. The Panjiakou Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Luan River in Qianxi County, Hebei Province, China. The primary purpose of the dam is to provide water for the cities of Tianjin and Tangshan, located to the south. The dam also provides flood control and its power plant has an installed capacity of 420 MW which includes a 270 MW pumped storage power station.

Panjiakou Reservoir, located in Qianxi County, Hebei Province, China, is a remarkable concrete gravity dam on the Luan River. Let’s delve into its fascinating details:

  1. Purpose and Features:
    • The primary purpose of the Panjiakou Dam is to provide water for the cities of Tianjin and Tangshan, both situated to the south.
    • It also serves flood control purposes.
    • The dam’s power plant boasts an impressive installed capacity of 420 MW, which includes a 270 MW pumped storage power station.
  2. Construction Timeline:
    • The project commenced in 1975 with the construction of the first stage.
    • By 1981, the single 150 MW generator was operational.
    • In 1984, the second stage began, involving the lower reservoir and pump-generators for the pumped storage power station.
    • The lower reservoir began impounding in 1989, and by 1993, the pump-generators were fully operational.
  3. Historical Impact:
    • The filling of the Panjiakou Reservoir submerged the town of Panjiakou under 50 meters (164 feet) of water.
    • Interestingly, a section of the Great Wall was also submerged, including part of the wall that ran through the Panjiakou pass.
    • During droughts when the reservoir holds less water, a portion of the submerged Great Wall can be seen on a small island off the reservoir’s edge at coordinates 40°25′51″N 118°16′12″E.
    • The surrounding scenery has made the reservoir area a popular tourist destination, often referred to as “Qianxi Little Three Gorges”.
  4. Technical Details:
    • The Panjiakou Dam stands 107.5 meters (353 feet) tall and spans 1,040 meters (3,412 feet).
    • Its reservoir has a total capacity of 2,930,000,000 cubic meters (2,375,390 acre-feet) and covers an area of 67 square kilometers (26 square miles).
    • Approximately 1,950,000,000 cubic meters (1,580,891 acre-feet) of the reservoir’s capacity are actively used for power generation and water supply.
    • The dam’s spillway, located on its left face, features 18 floodgates with a maximum discharge capacity of 40,400 cubic meters per second (1,426,713 cubic feet per second).

The submerged history of the Great Wall adds an intriguing layer to this engineering marvel.