{"id":15284,"date":"2024-01-22T02:15:52","date_gmt":"2024-01-22T01:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aboutriver.com\/?p=15284"},"modified":"2024-01-22T02:15:52","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T01:15:52","slug":"when-was-the-yangtze-river-in-1974-painted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aboutriver.com\/when-was-the-yangtze-river-in-1974-painted\/","title":{"rendered":"When Was The Yangtze River In 1974 Painted"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Yangtze River is the longest river in Asia and one of the most iconic rivers in the world. It is a vital waterway for commerce and travel, with more than 60 million people living along its banks. In the mid-1900s, it was painted for a unique purpose. In 1974, the Yangtze River was painted for a solar energy project.<\/p>\n

In the early 1970s, China was in the midst of a modern energy crisis. The country was struggling to meet its energy demands and was also facing air pollution issues. To tackle these issues, the Chinese government developed a program to utilize solar energy as an alternative energy source. The project required the Yangtze River to be painted in order to absorb more sunlight, thus increasing the absorption of solar energy.<\/p>\n

The painting of the Yangtze River was a massive undertaking. It was carried out using 50 specialized boats equipped with paintbrushes and rollers. The project was expected to be completed in two months, but it took five months due to numerous delays. In total, more than 17 million square metres of the river were painted.<\/p>\n

Specialists from the Chinese solar industry were responsible for designing the project. They chose an innovative technique that combined the use of gypsum and paint. Gypsum is an abrasive mineral and was used to help the paint stick better to the surface of the river. The paint used was a heat-reflective paint, which allowed the river to absorb more sunlight during the day, rising the temperature of the water, thus increasing the efficiency of solar energy.<\/p>\n