No, these aren’t the ruins of an ancient amusement park in Western China. These two water wheels on the Tashkurgan River are part of the irrigation system that helps keep the 13,000 or so residents of Tashkurgan supplied with fresh water even though the region receives less than 3 inches of precipitation each year. That reliable access to fresh water is one of the reasons this area has been inhabited for thousands of years and made it an important stop on the ancient Silk Road trade route. Highlighting the importance of fresh water is the goal of World Water Day, which falls on March 22 every year. This year’s theme is "Leaving no one behind." With over 2.1 billion people living without safe water at home, it’s one of the most ambitious of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Fresh water on the Silk Road
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Is that a buzzing sound?
-
Innerdalsvatna Lake, near Ålvundeidet, Norway
-
Exploring the Pearl of the Atlantic
-
In the belly of Fat Bear Week
-
Embracing the cold
-
National Merry-Go-Round Day
-
Boating on the Bojo
-
Petrified Forest National Park
-
Groovy!
-
Honoring our veterans
-
A desert arts pop-up, just popped up
-
Longtailed widowbird at Rietvlei Nature Reserve, South Africa
-
Veterans Day
-
Penguin Awareness Day
-
Rock House in Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio
-
A dreamy start to the Year of the Pig
-
Sunbeams across Tartu County, Estonia
-
The Crown Jewel of the North Atlantic
-
These patterns tell a story
-
Antarctica Day
-
World Octopus Day
-
It s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
-
Western Monarch Day
-
International Day of Forests
-
National Bison Day
-
Let’s go foraging
-
What s better than a smile?
-
Lake Tekapo, New Zealand
-
A tree of many memories
-
Avatar Mountains, Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China