HOHHOT, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- A 2,200-year-old irrigation project in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and another one in east China's Jiangxi Province have been declared World Heritage Irrigation Structures.

The Ministry of Water Resources said the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) inscribed the two projects on the World Heritage Irrigation Structures List at a meeting held Wednesday in Bali, Indonesia, bringing the total number of World Heritage Irrigation Structures in China to 19.

The Hetao Irrigation Area, located in the city of Bayannur, has been diverting water from the Yellow River to irrigate more than 680,000 hectares of land since the Qin Dynasty (221 B.C.-206 B.C.).

The Qianjinbei Irrigation System, located in the city of Fuzhou, dates back more than 1,200 years. It is a large water conservancy project in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, which has multiple functions including irrigation, transportation, drainage and flood control.

Established in 1950, ICID is a leading scientific, technical, international non-governmental organization, focusing on fields including irrigation, drainage and flood management.

The main mission of the organization is to promote sustainable agriculture water management and rural development.