•  
  •  
 

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

Three Gorges, relocation, China, dam, reservoir

College

Humanities

Department

Asian and Near Eastern Languages

Abstract

China’s Three Gorges project is much more than the construction of the world’s largest dam. It includes an array of projects ranging from constructing suspension bridges to planting tangerine orchards. The centerpiece of this massive project is a concrete and steel dam that will stand 610 feet high and will be 6,864 feet (1.3 miles) wide.1 The reservoir created by the dam will be a watery ribbon 372 miles long and less than a mile wide. The water will drown 23 8,120 hectares of arable land, 5,025 hectares of tangerine orchards, 657 factories, and 44 ancient ruins.1 The water surface will eventually rise 560 feet above current levels. This will necessitate the relocation of 1.13 million people who now live in 13 large cities (some as large as 100,000 residents1), 140 towns and 326 villages located below the projected surface of the reservoir.1

Download

Share

COinS