Middle Yellow River Improvement Bureau

After meeting with the technical personel of the Yellow River Conservancy Commission at Xi'an, G. Leung was taken to visit conservation sites in Changwu, Shaanxi, and Jingchuan, Gansu. This picture illustrates the typcial features of the loess plateau as a result of the erosive nature of the soil. This area was relatively thickly settled, and the there was enough labor power to terrace the hillside. On the other hand, most of the land in this region was thinly settled (due to its low productivity), and therefore it would be unwise to rely on terracing to control erosion. Changwu and Jingchuan were two of the three best improved areas in terms of erosion control, and were the favorite sites shown to visiting leaders and guests.