The 35th congress of the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research kicked off in Chengdu, Sichuan province on Monday.

Hosted by the Ministry of Water Resources of China and the IAHR, the congress attracted more than 1,000 delegates from over 70 countries.

Its theme is "The wise find pleasure in water: meandering through water science and engineering", and the congress features around 130 technical sessions on topics such as hydro-engineering and social civilization, hydro-environment and hydro-ecology, river and ocean management, climatic change and disaster response.

The Dujiangyan irrigation system, which was built in 256 BC, was recognized as a hydro-environment world heritage by the IAHR at the congress. Other awards were also handed out.