A water supply system for livestock in remote pastoral areas has been trialled in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, local researchers confirmed Sunday.
The trial of the new system, based on the Beidou Navigation Satellite System, was launched in the Kubuqi desert.
"The system can provide water for livestock after receiving a short message sent by users through the Beidou system," said Chulu, who is in charge of the research and development of the system.
"Using the Beidou system, users can not only send short messages, but also know their own exact position, even in situations where no communication networks are available, such as ocean, desert or other wilderness," he added.
"I am able to deliver water to my sheep and cattle wherever and whenever I want via this system," said Dalintai, a herder from Hanggin Banner who took part in the trial.
Dalintai said that previously he had to ride a motorcycle to provide water for his livestock grazing miles away everyday in summer or every second day in winter. The new system can save him a lot of time and reduce fuel costs.
The remote water supply system costs around 8,000 yuan (1,200 U.S. dollars), said Chulu, adding that he hopes the system could be promoted in other pastoral areas across the country and countries along the Belt and Road.
Named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper constellation, the BeiDou project was initiated in 1994. It began to serve China in 2000 and the Asia-Pacific region at the end of 2012.
The BeiDou system has been widely used in public security, transportation, fishing, power supplies, forestry, and disaster relief in China.
