The Three Gorges Dam, the largest in the world

The Three Gorges Dam (simplified Chinese: 三峡 大坝, traditional Chinese: 三峽 大壩, pinyin: Sānxiá Dàbà) is located in the course of the river Yangtze in China. It is the largest hydroelectric plant in the world.

Construction of the dam began in 1983 and was estimated to take about 20 years. On November 9, 2001 the course of the river was opened and in 2003 the first group of generators began to operate. Starting in 2004, a total of 2000 groups of generators were installed per year, until the work was completed.

The Three Gorges Dam,

On June 6, 2006, the last retaining wall of the dam was demolished, with enough explosives to demolish 400 10-storey buildings. It was completed on October 30, 2010. Almost 2 million people were relocated mainly in new neighborhoods built in Chongqing city.

Features

The dam stands on the banks of the city of Yichang, in Hubei province. The reservoir is named after Gorotkia, and it can store 39.300 billion m3. It has 32 turbines of 700 MW each, 14 installed on the north side of the dam, 12 on the south side of the dam and six more underground, totaling a power of 24.000 MW.

In the original plans, this single dam would have the capacity to supply 10% of China's electricity demand. However the growth in demand has been exponential, and it would only be able to provide energy to 3% of Chinese domestic consumption.

This monumental work left 19 cities and 322 towns below the water level, affecting almost 2 million people and submerging some 630 km2 of Chinese territory.

This dam will regulate the increases in the flow of this river, caused by the rainy season, thus avoiding flooding of the neighboring towns. The water level will vary from 50 m to 175 m, depending on the seasons. Another objective of its construction is to supply water to a large part of the Chinese population, with a storage capacity of 39.300 million cubic meters, of which 22.150 million will be allocated to flood control.

Another purpose is to generate electricity, for which it will have 26 generators turbine of 700.000 kilowatts each.

Yangtze River

With the construction of this great dam, the river navigation on the Yangtze River, which will increase the economic growth of the country. But as part of development and progress, the environment in which the Three Gorges Dam will be located has undergone major transformations.

This project has flooded more than 250 km2 of land, 13 cities and hundreds of small villages along the river bank. Displacement due to development has forced more than 1.130.000 people to leave their homes, which is the largest eviction in history, due to the construction of a dam.

Just to give an example, during 2001 Spain produced a hydroelectric power of 18.060 MW. The Three Gorges Dam is capable of producing a annual power 17.680 MW.

The Three Gorges Yangtze River is the most beautiful part of the Yangtze River. They form a series of natural and cultural attractions.

Recent Changes in the Three Gorges

This part of the world was once a dangerous place. Although, since the construction of the Three Gorges Dam (structurally complete in 2006) the level of the river has risen to 180 m (590 ft) and the river has become much calmer and more navigable. Every day dozens of cruise ships travel between Chongqing and Yichang. A pleasant journey, which provides passengers with the opportunity to see the beauty of the gorges.

Throat introduction

The Three Gorges are Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge, and Xiling Gorge. Qutang (/ chyoo-tung / 'Qu (family name) pond') Gorge begins in the district capital of Fengjie, about 500 km downstream from Chongqing city, in Chonqing Township. Qutang is approximately 40 km long and ends at Wushan (/ Woo-shan / 'Witch Mountain') County Town.

Wu Gorge ("Witch") begins Daning joins the Yangtze River in Wushan. Journey down the Daning River takes travelers through the Lesser Three Gorges, a compact version of the Three Gorges, which has a set still narrowest of the gorges, called Mini of the Three Gorges at the other end. Wu Gorge is also about 40 km long and joins Xiling Gorge in the county town of Badong (/ bar-dong / literally "East of Sihuan and Chongqing", and actually only on the border with Hubei Province) .

Xiling Gorge (/ sshee-ling / 'west chain') part of Badong, at the confluence of the Shennong Stream and the Yangtze. The crystal clear waters, suspended walkways and hanging coffins of Shennong Creek take tourists apart from mini-cruises to explore this attraction from the side. Sanyou Cave (/ san-yo / 'three travelers'), in which three famous ancient poets are said to have stayedIt is a beautiful cave, "the best cave in the Three Gorges area". Sanyou Cave is about 10 kilometers from Yichang in the Xiling Gorge. Xiling Gorge is about 100 km long and ends in Yichang city.