Abstract:Water projects embody the wisdom of the Chinese nation in water improvement. In-depth integration with water culture can break the traditional pattern of prioritizing functions over culture and facilitate the transformation of water civilization from project-oriented water resources to culture-oriented water resources. Taking Jining Municipality as the research object, this paper reviews the historical evolution of local water projects and diverse context of water culture, summarizes the achievements in the protection and inheritance of water culture, and analyzes existing challenges including inadequate cultural exploration, low utilization rate of cultural facilities, insufficient technological integration and weak cross-agencies coordination. Targeting newly-built, ongoing and completed projects, this paper proposes strategies such as integrating water culture into the whole life cycle of design, construction and operation, dynamically embedding cultural elements and carrying out revitalization renovation. It explores effective paths for water culture to enhance the value of water projects, so as to provide references for the construction of water culture and high-quality development of water resources in the new era.