沅水是洞庭湖水系中最長的河流。其主、支流地我省境内流经沅江、汉壽、常德、桃源、沅陵、古丈、瀘溪、吉首、鳳凰、保靖、永順、龍山、辰谿、麻陽、溆浦、黔陽、會同、通道、綏宁、芷江、靖縣、晃縣、懷化、城步、常德市及洪江市等二十六個縣市,流域人口約六百餘万。在經济价值上,沅水為我省內部的運輸大動脈,它不僅承担着湘西物資的主要運輸任務,而且貴州、四州部分地区的糧食、土特產也依靠沅水運出;同時,湘西聚居和散属的少數民族很多,地區遼阔而偏僻,生产建设较为落后,無论在目前和將来湘黔鐵路興修后,沅水對於发展工農业生产、支援国家建設、鞏固工农聯盟和發展少數民族地區的政治、經濟、文化事業等方面,都具有極其重要的作用。由於解放后国民经济的不断發展,沅水的物資运输正逐年显著增加,以现有木帆船力量已不能充分滿足此种需要,特别是一九五三年國家進入大 Yuanshui is the longest river in the Dongting Lake water system. Its main tributaries flow through the province of Yuanjiang, Hanshou, Changde, Taoyuan, Yuanling, Guzhang, Luxi, Jishou, Phoenix, Baojing, Yongshun, Longshan, Chenxi, Mayang, Xupu, Qian There are 26 counties and cities including Yang, Tonghui, Passage, Suining, Zhijiang, Jingxian, Huang County, Huaihua, Chengbu, Changde and Hongjiang. The population of the basin is about 6 million. In terms of economic value, Yuanshui is the artery of transportation within the province. It not only undertakes the major transportation tasks for the materials in western Hunan Province, but also supplies grain and native products in some areas of Guizhou and other four prefectures for transportation. At the same time, There are a large number of ethnic minorities, vast and remote areas, and backward production and construction. No matter at present or in the future, after the revitalization of the Hunan-Guizhou Railway, Yuanshui has made great efforts in developing industrial and agricultural production, supporting state construction, consolidating the alliance of workers and peasants, and developing ethnic minorities Political, economic, cultural undertakings, etc., all have an extremely important role. Due to the continuous development of the national economy after the liberation, the material transportation of the Yuanshui River has been significantly increased year by year. The current strength of wooden sailboats can no longer fully satisfy such a need. In particular, in 1953, the state entered a large