Three Gorges

The Yangtze River (Changjiang) is the largest river in China and the third largest in the world. Pouring down from the snow-capped Geladandong Peak of the Tanggula Mountains in Qinghai Province, it winds its way through mountains and valleys collecting water from its hundreds of tributaries and riverlets and gradually becoming a huge water system that flows passionately to the east until it empties into the sea. It is 6,300 km long with a drainage area of 1.8 million sq km, yielding an average annual runoff of some 1,000 billion cu m.The stretch from Fengjie in Sichuan to Yichang in Hubei, about 200km long, cuts through three majestic canyans: Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge and Xiling Gorge---known as the Three Gorges. The Three Gorge Dam Project, which is now under construction and is attracting worldwide attention, is located in the middle of the Xiling Gorge, about 40km upstream of the Gezhouba project, with its damsite at sandouping in Yichang, Hubei Province. The Three Gorges project promises tremendous comprehensive benefits such as flood control, power generation and navigation. Its main structures consist of the water impounding dam, flood releasing installations, power plants, and navigation facilities. Flood Control: The Three Gorges reservoir has a flood storage capacity of 22.15 billion cu.m. which can control effectively the upstream flood water flowing into the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, thus eliminating threat to the vast plains of the lower section of the river. Power Generation: With a total installed capacity of 1768MW, the Three Gorges power plant can produce annually 84TWH of electricity to supply central China, east China and east Sichuan, so as to replace about 40 million tons of coal per year and relieve pressure on coal transportation and reduce air pollution. Navigation: With the completion of the Three Gorges Project, the navigationconditions below Chongqing will be greatly improved as a result of the 660km-long deep water channel to be formed of the reservoir backwater. As the dangerous shoals are submerged and navigable depth increased, shipping efficiency will be boosted and transport cost will be reduced by 35%.

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