The Jilintai I Dam is a concrete-face rock-fill embankment dam

Embankment dam

An embankment dam is a massive artificial water barrier. It is typically created by the emplacement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil, sand, clay and/or rock. It has a semi-permanent waterproof natural covering for its surface, and a dense, waterproof...

 on the Kashgar River

Kashgar River

The Kashgar is a river in the Xinjiang province of the China. It has its sources in the eastern parts of the Pamir Mountains, in the border area between China and Tajikistan, and then flows eastwards, passing through the city of Kashgar, which gets its name from the river...

, 29 km (18 mi) east of Nilka

Nilka County

The Nilka County is a county situated within the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture. It contains an area of 10,121 km2. According to the 2002 census, it has a population of 150,000....

 in Xinjiang

Xinjiang

Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...

, China. The dam was constructed between 2001 and 2005 for several purposes but mainly hydroelectric power generation. It supports a 460 MW power station. The Jilintai I is the first of 10 dam projects on the Kashgar. Construction of Jilintai II, directly downstream, begin in May 2008 and the 50 MW power station was commissioned in October 2010. The project, including the diversion dam, was complete in April 2011.