On August 21st, 2021, the 7th Qianning Sediment Youth Academic Salon was held both online and offline at the State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering at Tsinghua University, and offline parallel sessions were organized at the same time.

The special guests attending this salon were Li Dapeng, Director of the Department of Water Resources at National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); Yang Yongjiang, Senior Advisor of China Society for Hydropower Engineering (CSHE); Wang Yinan, Research Fellow from Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC); Cai Zhiguo, Member of the Party Committee of the Bureau of Ecological and Environmental Supervision of the Yellow River Basin at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE); Gao Guoming, Director of the Bureau of International Cooperation, Science and Technology of the Yellow River Conservancy Commission of Ministry of Water Resources (MWR). The invited long presentation speakers were Bai Yuchuan, Professor of Tianjin University; Chen Qiuwen, Research Fellow of Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute (NHRI); Yu Xinxiao, Professor from Beijing Forestry University, etc. 

Sun Weiling, Professor from Peking University; Yi Yujun, Professor from Beijing Normal University; Tang Xuelin, Professor from China Agricultural University; Zhang Shanghong, Professor from North China Electric Power University; Zhang Fan, Research Fellow from Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research at Chinese Academy of Sciences; and Liu Chunjing, Liu Jiahong, Zhang Xiaoming and Guo Xinlei from China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR).

Group photo of online guests

01 Opening Session

A/Prof. Fu Xudong introduced the conference guests and the processes of this salon. Affected by the epidemic, the salon adopted a combination of online and offline, the participants could not take a group photo as before, sitting down to communicate face to face, but the original intention of young scholars in China, who study hydroscience and engineering, to pay close attention to the major needs of the country remains unchanged, and the talent, taste and temperament remain unchanged.

A/Prof. Fu Xudong giving a speech

Prof. Li Danxun gave a welcome speech, expressing a warm welcome to the conference delegates on site and online. Prof. Li talked about the life of Mr. Qian Ning, who wrote his thesis on the motherland and is the banner of hydroscience and engineering, which is admirable and inspires our young people to seek truth and work hard and make more contributions to the discipline.

Prof. Li Danxun giving the welcome speech

Director Li Dapeng gave a brief introduction to the development of the discipline. Director Li emphasized that the discipline of water resources is a fundamental and strategic discipline for water security in China. How the traditional water resources discipline can play a greater role in coping with the impact of climate and environmental change, requires in-depth consideration by water resources researchers. How to give new vitality to the discipline, requires the support and help from water resources researchers.

Director Li Dapeng giving a speech (online)

02 Invited Long Presentation Session

Prof. Ran Qihua moderated the invited long presentation session in the morning.

Prof. Bai Yuchuan from Tianjin University presented Advances in the study on Sediment in Estuarine Coastal Engineering; Research Fellow Chen Qiushan from NHRI presented Environmental and Ecological Effects of Sedimentation Changes in Reservoirs; Prof. Yu Xinxiao from Beijing Forestry University presented Ecological restoration of watersheds and its ecological response. After each long presentation, there were enthusiastic questions and lively discussions online and offline in an active atmosphere.

Prof. Ran Qihua moderated the invited long presentation session (online)

Prof. Yu Xinxiao giving a presentation

03 Voice of the Society/Department Session

After lunch, A/Prof. Xu Mengzhen hosted the Voice of the Society/Department Session. Yang Yongjiang, Director of the CSHE, presented Wind-Water Complementation and Carbon Neutrality; Wang Yinan, Research Fellow of the DRC, presented The Risks of Removing Small Hydropower Across the Board; and Cai Zhiguo, Member of the Party Committee of the Bureau of Ecological and Environmental Supervision of the Yellow River Basin, MEE, presented Water Ecology and Environmental Management.

Director Yang Yongjiang giving a presentation

Research Fellow Wang Yinan giving a presentation (online)

Secretary Cai Zhiguo giving a presentation (online)

Prof. Wang Zhaoyin participated in the discussion session at the end of the three guest presentations. Prof. Wang emphasized that this academic salon for young people is not a big classroom or a lecture hall, and encouraged academic discussions and collision of ideas. At the end, Prof. Wang gave the Four Sentences of Heng Qu by Zhang Zai of the Northern Song Dynasty to young people: to ordain conscience for Heaven and Earth, to secure life and fortune for the people, to continue lost teachings for past sages, and to establish peace for all future generations.

04 Annual showcase Session

The second session of the afternoon was the Annual Showcase co-chaired by Xia Junqiang from Wuhan University and Yang Kejun from Sichuan University. Six scholars talked about the recent hotspots. Director Gao Guoming presented The warning of the 7.20 Henan flash floods to the Yellow River basin to deal with large floods; Prof. Wang Xiekang from Sichuan University presented The construction of early warning indicators for flash flood disaster prevention; Prof. Li Peng from Xi'an Polytechnic University presented Reflections on the construction of high quality silt dams on Loess Plateau; Prof. Chen Dong from Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNNR) at CAS presented Analysis and simulation of sediment singular dispersion; Prof. He Zhiguo from Zhejiang University presented Study on deep-sea hydrothermal plume and particle transport; Prof. Xu Dong from Tianjin University presented Numerical simulation method of water-sand and practice of iSWEM software development. All the six presentations focused either on the current demand hotspots or on the frontier of the discipline.

05 The Qianning Sediment Young Paper Award

The last mystery session was hosted by Prof. Chen Dong from IGSNNR. Dr. Duan Yanchong, the winner of this year's Qianning Sediment Young Paper Award, was announced by Prof. Chen Dong, who highly praised Dr. Duan's series of new discoveries on the super-scale structure of turbulent flow in open channels. Prof. Wang Zhaoyin presented Dr. Duan with the award plate engraved with Qianning Sediment Young Paper Award at the main conference. Finally, Dr. Duan gave a presentation on the award-winning thesis and related results, entitled Study on the characteristics of turbulent super-scale structure in open channels.

Photo of the award presentation at the main conference

(Left: Dr. Duan Yanchong, Right: Mr. Wang Zhaoyin)

06 Summary

Prof. Xia Jianxin of Minzu University of China concluded the salon. He expressed his gratitude to each of the presenters of this salon, expecting more outstanding young talents to stand out and more excellent results to support the development of China, and also expecting the salon to be more and more successful.

Qianning Sediment Youth Academic Salon Organizing Committee

ICCE CNC-IAHS

Institute of Water, Sediment and Environment Sciences, Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University

State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering, Tsinghua University

Mr. Qianning (1922-1986) was one of the outstanding organizers of river sediment research in China. He returned to China in 1955 and served as a professor at the Department of Hydraulic Engineering at Tsinghua University from 1973, making important contributions to the management of the Yellow River and Yangtze River and laying a solid foundation for the development of sediment science in China. The Qianning Sediment Youth Academic Salon was founded in 2015 and held once a year, hosted by the Institute of Rivers and Ecology, Tsinghua University. The salon focuses on cutting-edge scientific issues in the fields of river sedimentation and ecology, and commemorates Mr. Qian Ning through academic lectures. So far, the Salon has been successfully held seven times, with over a thousand experts and students participating. As the best way to commemorate Mr. Qianning, Qianning Salon will continue forever.