New Recognitions to Genesis of Xuxi River and Its Exploitation in Jiangsu Province
对江苏胥溪河成因及其开发利用的新探讨

On the north bank of east dam at Xuxi River, in the drilling hole No. 7508 columned profile, from -3.7 m to -5.8 m, there is a sand and clay boulder layer with a thickness of 2 m. The drilling hole No. 8179 between east dam and west dam at Xuxi River, on the under part of it, there is a middle, coarse and fine sand layer with a thickness of 4.5 m. The above phenomena indicate that there is a large natural river here before the Xuxi River was excavated by the Kingdom of Wu in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC). We can find other important evidences for the existence of the palaeo-Zhongjiang River. The lock gate at the east dam of Xuxi River nowadays blocks the water systems to connect between Shuiyangjiang River and Taihu Lake. The lock gate is also disadvantageous to irrigation and ship transportation among the drainage area of Xuxi River. The authors suggest that if the canal between Wuhu and Taihu Lake could be excavated and enlarged as soon as possible, that is, if the channel from Wuhu to Guchenghu Lake, Xuxi River, East Dam, Liyang, Yixing and Taihu Lake could be further enlarged, the watershed composed of deposition between Shuiyangjiang River and Taihu Lake could be cleared away, then the channel journey could be shortened and the ships could also be diverted from the shipping line on the Yangtze River for ensuring security navigable rate, exploiting the resources of sand and gravels on the old river channel and stabilizing the dikes of the Yangtze River, hence the problems of irrigation, flood diversion, pollution abatement and flooded fields drainage on the Yangtze River could be solved and the economic sustainable development for the drainage areas of Xuxi River and Taihu Lake could be promoted.