China is endowed with rich hydropower resources and the total hydropower reserve ranks first in the world. The technical potential for small hydropower (up to 50MW) is 1.28GW,which is mainly distributed in the relatively underdeveloped region and minority region in China,and over 62000MW has already been developed so far. Since the establishment of P. R. C.in 1949,the government has attached great importance to the small hydropower development and its role in energy utilization,environmental protection,poverty alleviation and economic development. Accordingly a series of favorable policies and subsidies to support small hydropower development have been launched with an aim to promote the rural economic and social development. Currently greater importance has been attached to small hydropower as a clean and renewable energy sources Small hydropower will play a greater role in the effort to address climate changes,energy saving and emission reductions as well as energy mix improvement. The success of China's small hydropower development could be learned by rest of the world,especially those developing countries suffering from energy and electricity shortage. <<