Three Gorges - One of the picturesque areas of Southern China along the Yangtze River, and the location of the massive dam project.

A 3-day boat ride originates in Chongqing, the capital of China during WW II and today a sprawling city of 36 million people. The journey continues down the Yangtze through the Qutang, Wuxia and Xiling Gorges and eventually reaches the Three Gorges Dam. Sun Yatsen first proposed building a dam on the Yangtze River in 1919 for power generation purposes, but the idea was shelved due to unfavorable political and economic conditions.

The following decades witnessed much discussion and disagreement on many aspects of this monumental project. In spite of this, the project was approved and work began in 1992. With an estimated cost of between US $25-75 billion, this is reported to be the largest construction project in the world. 40% of the project cost is associated with relocating the towns and villages along the river, necessitated by the increase in the river height when the reservoir is filled.

When completed, the hydroelectric generating capabilities will be about 18 gigawatts (18 x 10^9), approximately equal to the electricity produced by 18 nuclear reactors or burning 40 million tons of coal.