Why the Red Flag Canal is not used is because it is a cultural relic that has been protected. The Red Flag Canal now has water but only plays an ornamental role. Symbolically, it has completely lost the original intention of building the red flag. Even in the wet season, many water conservancy facilities were built in Shanxi province in the upper reaches, and people had to allocate and use the upstream water first.

construction background of hongqi canal

hongqi canal, a man-made irrigation canal, is located in Linzhou city, Anyang, Henan province. Linzhou is located at the junction of Henan and Shanxi, and it has suffered from severe drought and water shortage in history. According to historical records, from the first year of the Ming Dynasty (1436) to the founding of New China in 1949, there were more than 1 natural disasters and more than 3 droughts in Linxian County in the 514 spring and autumn periods.

Li Hanqing, the governor of Lu 'an in Yuan Dynasty, planned to build Tianping Canal, and Xie Sicong, the magistrate of Linxian County in Ming Dynasty, organized to build Xiegong Canal, but these projects only solved the water problem of some villages and could not fundamentally change the water shortage in Linxian County. At that time, there were 985, mu of cultivated land in the county, but only 12,4 mu of irrigated land. The grain output was very low, and the people's lives were very difficult.