Navigation lines in the Lijiang, a famously beautiful river in Guilin, had to be changed Wednesday due to a dramatic fall of water level in south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, a source from local tourism department said.

Water flow on the Lijiang has fallen to 20.3 cubic meters per second, far below the 30 cubic meters per second required for normal navigation of pleasure boats on the river, the source said.

After the line changes, more boats will be used in shallow waters, and all scenic sites will remain open to visitors, according to the tourism center in charge of the river's navigation.

The water level fall was ascribed by a lack of rain in the past month, noted the sources.

Guilin is one of China's most popular tourism destinations. The Lijiang river, with its limpid water, is one of the scenic sites in the city.

2004/12/16
Source: Xinhuanet