Fight for fish: 300 dams demolished in ‘world’s biggest’ river revival project

In a comprehensive ecological intervention, China has claimed to dismantle 300 dams and decommission more than 90 percent of small hydropower stations along the Chishui River, also known as the Red River, a key tributary of the upper Yangtze.

The move is seen as one of the largest state-led efforts to restore aquatic biodiversity in Asia’s longest river, reversing decades of hydro-infrastructure development that critically endangered native fish species, including the Yangtze sturgeon, the South China Morning Post reported.

342 hydro plants, 300 dams removed

The Chishui River, which flows over 400 kilometers through the provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan, has long been considered a final sanctuary for rare and endemic fish species in the upper Yangtze.

Once fragmented by a dense lattice of dams and power stations, its waters now run more freely following large-scale demolitions that began in 2020.

By the end of 2024, 300 out of 357 dams had been removed, and 342 of 373 small hydropower stations were shut down, according to a report by China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency.

The dismantling has restored natural water flow, reconnected fragmented habitats, and reopened migratory routes critical for fish reproduction.

“This achievement indicates that the current ecological environment of the Red River can now meet the habitat and reproductive needs of Yangtze sturgeon,” said Liu Fei, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Hydrobiology in Wuhan.

The Yangtze sturgeon, declared extinct in the wild by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2022, has shown signs of recovery.

Liu’s team released two batches of hatchery-bred sturgeon into the Red River in 2023 and 2024. In April 2025, 20 adult fish were released into Guizhou’s section of the river to test whether they could reproduce naturally in the restored habitat.

By mid-April, researchers confirmed spawning behavior and the successful hatching of fry, an unprecedented event since 2000.

4,000-mile Yangtze River

For decades, fish populations in the Yangtze Basin have been decimated by human interventions.

Hydropower stations changed water flows, reduced oxygen levels, and severed vital connections between spawning and feeding grounds.

Professor Zhou Jianjun, a hydraulic engineering expert at Tsinghua University, said that decommissioning does not always require full demolition. “The key is not whether the facilities still exist, but that, after power generation stops, the water control method can be changed to meet ecological needs.”

China’s broader riverine restoration strategy extends beyond dam removals. A decade-long fishing ban introduced in 2020, restrictions on sand mining, and strict regulation of new infrastructure projects have all contributed to measurable gains in biodiversity and water quality.

In Sichuan province alone, authorities rectified 5,131 hydropower stations by the end of 2021, shutting down 1,223 of them.

Ref: Fight for fish: 300 dams demolished in ‘world’s biggest’ river revival project