Three Gorges Dam

YANGTZE RIVER

THREE GORGES DAM

HALLE NANNINGA SHAGHAYEGH NAVAIANGHASEMI NOAH WEBER

History

The Three Gorges Dam, located along the Yangtze River, is located in the Hubei Province of central China. The Dam is the world’s largest source of hydroelectric power generation, and is even the world’s largest power-producing body. After about 20 years of construction and $30B, the Dam is considered to be an advancement in engineering and toward a future of renewable energy. However, the planning, implementation, and eventual construction of this monumental building project brought along many negative side effects on its surrounding indigenous communities.

Table of Contents

Each date along the timeline is representative of an important event construction process, and ongoing factors caused by the Three expose various economical, social, and environmental factors that Dam. Additionally, there are a multitude of negative impacts that the near future.

event in the conceptualization, initial site surveying, planning and Gorges Dam along the Yangtze River. Within this publication, we that have been affected by the construction of the Three Gorges are beginning to be identified, and others that are unavoidable in

Conceptualization

A monumental dam that spanned across the Yangtze River was originally envisioned by Sun Yat-sen, the first provisional president of the Republic of China. Often refered to as the “father of the nation” in the Republic of China, he was known for his important role in overthrowing the Quig Dynasty during the Xinhai Revolution.

Forethought

In 1932, the Nationalist government, led by Chiang Kai-shek began documenting preliminary plans for a dam in the Three Gorges. Following the reign of Sun Yat-sun, Kai-shek was a military leader that served as the leader of the Republic of China from 1928 to his death in 1975 (1949 in mainland China). His rule was limited to Taiwan following his defeat by Mao Zedong in the Chinese Civil War.

Surveying

In 1939, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Japanese military surveyed the Three Gorges area for a dam as they thought they would soon take over China. This survey was refered to as the Otani Plan.

American Influence

When 1944 rolled around, an engineer working for the United States Bureau of Reclamation named John L. Savage was invited to China to survey the Three Gorges area. Upon returning, Savage had surveyed and designed his dream dam and published his report titled the ‘Yangtze River Project’.

Approximately 50 Chinese engineers traveled to the United States for training under Savage. Savage supervised the designs for over 60 dams, and is most known for his designs for the he is best known for the Hoover Dam, Shasta Dam, Parker Dam and Grand Coulee Dam in the United States.

Natural Phenomenon

From June to September 1954, the Yangtze River flooded again and again due to a high volume of precipitation and long rainy season that spring. The horrific floods took the lives of an estimated 33,000 residents. These floods put more pressure on the government to invest in flood protection in the Yangtze River valley.

Swimming

Mao Zedong writes a poem entitled Swimming , In the poem, Zedong mentions “a Great Stone Wall, to catch the clouds and rains of Wushan”, as “A Great lake shall rise upon the gorge!”

I have just drunk the waters of Changsha And come to eat the fish of Wuchang.

Now I am swimming across the great Yangtze, Looking afar to the open sky of Chu. Let the wind blow and waves beat, Better far than idly strolling in a courtyard. Today I am at ease.

“It was by a stream that the Master said-‘Thus do things flow away!’ “ Sails move with the wind. Tortoise and Snake are still. Great plans are afoot: A bridge will fly to span the north and south, Turning a deep chasm into a thoroughfare; Walls of stone will stand upstream to the west To hold back Wushan’s clouds and rain Till a smooth lake rises in the narrow gorges. The mountain goddess if she is still there Will marvel at a world so changed.

Mao Zedong

Hundred Flowers Movement

The Hundred Flowers Movement was a time in history when the comminust Chinese government encouraged citizens to openly express their grievances with the govenernment and other political expressions. This came to an abrupt hault in July of 1957 when Mao Zedong began feeling threatened. Following the end of the campaign, Zedong began cracking down against all that were critical of the regieme.

Groundwork

With Mao Zedong ruling, planning for the dam has officially started for the project.

Perpetuation

The construction of the project has been approved.

Utility

In 1993, construction began to provide roads and electricity to the site.

Celebration

In December of 1994, the grand commencement ceremony of the project was held on the site of the Three Gorges Dam.

Diversion

In 1997, construction workers blocked and diverted the river, which brought phase one of construction to an end.

Devestation

The 1998 China Floods brought about devestation and harm to inhabitants of the Three Gorgese River valley. Lasting from June to September, the Yangtze, Nen, Songhua, and Pearl Rivers all suffered from massive flooding.

Relocation

In order to make way for the new dam and the massive amount of water that it will hold, the Three Gorges Dam included the flooding of 13 cities, 140 towns, and 1,350 villages as well as numerous sites of cultural, historical, and religious heritage.

As a result, 1.3 million inhabitants were relocated, many from rural areas to dense cities.

Accomodations

In order for construction to continue, an upstream cofferdam was destroyed allowing the river to rush into the foundation pit.

Generation

In November 2002, the largest hydraulic turbine generator rotor in the world was hoisted into position.

In June of 2003, the double lane, five step ship lock was completed. This allowed ships to begin passing through the ongoing construction.

Landslides

In July 2003, the Qianjiangping and Gongjiafang landslides were devestating to the poorly built housing, causing complete distruction to effecting communities. The only compensation awarded to those who lost their homes due to landslides caused by the construction of the dam was in the form of a small tent. This was meant to only be temporary, until the families found themselves a new home. However, many of the families are still living in tents.

Generation

By November 2003, construction came to the end of stage two. At this time, the first three power generation sets were connected to the grid and began generating electricity.

Destruction

Following the completion of the second phases, around 1,200 sites of historical and archaeological importance, that once lined the middle of the Yangtze River, vanished as floodwaters rose.

In December of 2004, the electricity route from the Yangtze River Dam to Shanghai began delivering power to the city.

Daytime

In 2005, NASA scientists calculated that the shift of water mass stored by the dams would increase the total length of the Earth’s day by 0.06 microseconds and make the Earth slightly more rought in the middle and flatter on the poles.

Completion

By May 2006, the Three Gorges Dam was officially completed.

Ecological Changes

Daytime land surface tempuratures dropped about 0.67 degrees Celsuis (1.2 degrees Farenheit) between the mountain ranges. This is likely a result of an increased cloud cover caused by evaporation off of the reservoir.

Pollution

In April 2007, China’s Xinhua news agency reported pollution in the dam’s reservoir from pesticides, fertilizer, and sewage. The pollution appeared to have been carried to the reservoir from tributaries.

Extinction

Baiji, the Yangtze River dolphin was declared extinct as a result of irresponsible fishing and habitat encroachment. The dolphin was refered to as the Goddess of the Yangtze by local fisherman and boatmen.

Earthquake

The dam may have been tied to major earthquakes, including one in May of 2008 that killed 87,000 people.

Water Levels

In August of 2009, water levels were raised to the ideal height of 175 meters, which was the last acceptance check in the third stage on the Three Gorges Project.

Repayment

For the Three Gorges project, full cost recovery was expected to occur 10 years after the dam started operation. The entire construction cost of the dam was recovered by December 20, 2013.

Maximum

In 2020, China experienced its heaviest floods in more than three decases. As a result, the dam’s reservoir neared its maximum capacity, reaching its highest levels since it began retaining water in 2003. Officials said that the dam reduced damage and loss of life from the floods, while critics asserted that the heavy floods served to highlight the limitations of the dam as an effective flood control tool.

Extinction

By 2022, the Chinese white sturgeon, often called the King of Fishesm declared extinct, in part as a result of the construction of the Three Gorges Dam.

Ongoing

Ultimately, the construction of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River resulted in many economic positives for China, but, in some cases, immediately had negative impacts on adjoining social and environmental factors. Ongoing effects on the surrouding communities of the Yangtze River include landslides, earthquakes, endangered animals and ecosystems, and sediment buildup, to name a few.

Bibliography

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