The North China Plain Agriculture Project (NCPA), which aimed to rehabilitate and expand irrigation and drainage works in three northern provinces, inaugurated Bank lending to China. It was approved in 1982, two years after China claimed its seat in the World Bank. Implementation coincided with rapid price and market reforms led by the rural sector. The project achieved or exceeded most targets set at appraisal, thanks to straightforward design, sound technology, effective cooperation between the Bank and borrower, and favorable organizational arrangements. A recent OED impact evaluation, carried out five years after project completion, finds that project impacts are being sustained.