Reservoir opens floodgates in annual China spectacle

Tourists look on as the Xiaolangdi Reservoir in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province, discharges water at a rate of 2,600 cubic metres per second.

The annual process takes place to clear up sediment that has collected in the Yellow River - the country's second largest waterway - with the speeding currents carrying tons of sand into the sea. Each year the river bed rises as silt deposits build up, which slows the water flow.