據稱，中國的工程師正在計劃修一條全世界最長的輸水隧洞，其長度將超過600英里。

這條輸水隧洞將從西藏延伸到新疆的塔克拉瑪干大沙漠。它將遠遠超過現有的紀錄保持者——環紐約市的一條85英里的輸水隧洞。

據一位匿名的地質技術工程師向《南華早報》透露，該工程預計長度為621英里（合1000公里），將從西藏的雅魯藏布江向新疆地區引水，最終將這里變成“中國的加利福尼亞”。

這項雄心勃勃的工程也面臨著一些阻礙，首先是鄰國的反對。雅魯藏布江流出中印邊界后，就是印度所謂的“布塔瑪普特拉河”，并在孟加拉國匯入恒河。另外這條水渠必須在極惡劣的地質環境下開工，此外環境因素也是必須考慮的問題。

據《南華早報》報道：“（青藏高原）每年流出的水達4000億噸，足以填滿美國五大湖之一的伊利湖。青藏高原也是黃河、長江、湄公河（中國稱瀾滄江）、恒河等大江大河的發源地?！?

中科院青藏高原研究所的周石硚對《南華早報》表示：“它將改變整個地區的地貌。就我所知，就此問題還沒有進行過環評。其影響及影響的范圍現在還很難說?！?

中科院巖土力學研究所研究員張傳慶表示，由于成本和技術問題，該項目十年內可能也不會開工。

張傳慶也提到了目前正在云南省建設的云貴引水工程（全長373英里，已于8月施工）。由于云貴高原的海拔僅次于青藏高原，因此它也能為新藏引水工程提供寶貴的經驗。

由于云貴引水工程規模宏大，因此它也將是一個巨大的挑戰。其干渠的寬度能容納兩列高鐵列車并肩行駛。而且它還必須跨越地震斷層線。

“這個工程將表明，我們有智慧、有實力、有工具在危險地形建設超長的引水工程，而且成本也不會讓我們難以承受?！睆垈鲬c對《南華早報》表示。

除了擔心引起氣候變化，環保人士還擔心地震將殃及新藏引水工程，并引發洪水。

非營利組織國際西藏網絡的洛桑揚措（音）對Quartz網站表示：“該地區是地震多發地區，因此該工程有可能引發自然災害。”

目前，中國最長的引水隧洞是遼寧省的大伙房輸水隧洞，全長約53英里。（財富中文網）

譯者：賈政景

Engineers in China are laying plans for what would be the world’s largest water tunnel at more than 600 miles.

The tunnel, which would stretch from Tibet to the Taklimakan Desert in Xinjiang province, would surpass the current record holder: a 85-mile tunnel that pipes water around New York City.

The planned 621-mile tunnel (1,000 km), would transport water from the Yarlung Tsangpo River to the barren Xinjiang region, with the goal of turning the area “into California,” an anonymous geotechnical engineer told the South China Morning Post.

There are major obstacles to this ambitious project, including objections by neighboring countries. The Yarlung Tsangpo River crosses the border with India to become the Brahmaputra River and later merges with the Ganges River in Bangladesh. Other potential roadblocks include the rugged terrain the tunnel must go under and environmental concerns.

“The more than 400 billion tonnes of water [the Tibetan Plateau] releases each year—almost enough to fill Lake Erie in the United States—also feeds the source of other major rivers, including the Yellow, Yangtze, Mekong (known in China as the Lancang) and the Ganges,” The South China Morning Post reports.

“It will change the landscape of an entire region,” Zhou Shiqiao, who does research for the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, told the South China Morning Post. “To my knowledge, no environmental evaluation has been carried out. The nature and scale of the impact remains in the dark.”

Zhang Chuanqing, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, said the project won’t start for another 10 years because of the cost and technology.

In the meantime, Zhang points to the 373-mile tunnel being built in the Yunnan province (on which construction started in August) as a test run for the longer Tibetan project. The Yunnan tunnel begins on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, the second-highest plateau in the country after Tibet, making it a good model for its longer cousin, according to Zhang.

The Yunnan tunnel will be a big challenge because of its size—it will be wide enough to fit two high-speed trains—and the fact that it must cross earthquake fault lines.

“It is to show we have the brains, muscle and tools to build super-long tunnels in hazardous terrains, and the cost does not break the bank,” Zhang told the South China Morning Post,

Along with climate change, earthquakes are a concern for environmentalists when it comes to the Tibet-Xinjiang tunnel and the possibility that a temblor could cause a failure in the tunnel and create a flood.

“The region is also earthquake-prone and it could lead to a huge natural disaster,” Lobsang Yangtso, from the non-profit International Tibet Network told Quartz.

Currently, the longest water tunnel in China is the Dahuofang Water Tunnel, which stretches 53 miles through the Liaoning province, located in the northeast of the country.