A hydrological gem among the cliffs

Longmen Hydrological Station, which has a history of 90 years since its establishment in 1934, is the only hydrological station located on the cliffs of the Yellow River.

Providing hydrological information and data for various tasks, such as flood control, drought relief, disaster reduction, reservoir operation, water resources allocation management and water conservancy project construction, it is a key national level hydrological station.

The hanging crane box on the cable path across the Yellow River is the only way to access the station.

The flood season signifies the busiest time of year for the station. Staff must stay up all night, fighting with the stormy waves in the valley, in order to get accurate and timely data.

For generations, hydrologists have been working here, and now the station is entering a new era. "Compared with the traditional measurements such as testing flows with a wooden boat, the current measurements are quite high-tech," said Yang Wenbo, the 19th head of Longmen Hydrology Station.

"The newly-used water level identification system can not only obtain the fluctuating water level information timely, but also generate it into data automatically," Yang said.

With an average age of 28, the staff working at the station today are younger than those in previous years.

In September 2019, ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River basin were made a major national strategy.

Throughout the whole Yellow River basin, 145 hydrological stations are scattered along the watercourse. More than 2,000 hydrologists are giving full play to the role of "eyes and ears" and guarding the Yellow River with responsibility and hard work.