Introduction of Hydropower Technology in China and Early Hydropower Development

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, hydropower technology spread to China, which opened a difficult development course of the early hydropower industry. A group of electrical engineering professionals with overseas background had play a key role in the introduction of hydropower technology, the popularization of hydropower technology, and the planning and construction of hydropower projects. Most of these experts served in the water conservancy institutions of the Nanjing National Government with the intention of promoting the modernization of the country. There was no difference between the national government and the elite of hydroelectric technology. The Ministry of Industry had drawn up the first national hydraulic development plan in China's history; the National Defense Design Commission had stepped up the national exploration of hydraulic resources in preparation for the War of Resistance Against Japan, paying particular attention to the southwest, but the National Government had only stayed at the planning level and had not built any hydropower station. Before the outbreak of the All-round War of Resistance Against Japan, only dozens of small hydropower stations were built to generate electricity.