Throughout its history, China has been well known for taking part in a multitude of record-breaking architectural endeavors from the renowned Great Wall of China to the towering Shanghai Tower; the Three Gorges Dam is no different. Stretching over 2300 meters long and standing at a height of 180 meters, the Three Gorges Dam is the world’s largest hydroelectric dam structure. Furthermore, the Three Gorges Dam also happens to be the world’s largest power station in terms of electrical capacity, able to generate 22,500 megawatts of electricity. Holding several world records, generating plenty of power to support citizens, and defending millions of people from potentially devastating floods — the Three Gorges Dam is sure to be a source of immense national pride for the Chinese people. However, recently, there has been doubt regarding whether the benefits of the dam outweigh its costs and consequences.
Before we jump into these doubts, let’s take a look at the brief history of the Three Gorges Dam. For China, harnessing the power of rivers has always been of great importance to the advancement of society, and the development of new technologies has only spurred the ambitions of Chinese leaders to control water resources. In 1919, Sun Yat-sen, said to be the “Father of Modern China”, revealed his visions for a large dam on the Yangtze river capable of defending people from floods and providing them with hydroelectric power. Unfortunately, Sun Yat-sen died before he could see his dream realized, and his successor Chiang Kai-shek began work on the project, inviting John L. Savage, an engineer renowned for his work on the Hoover Dam, to survey the area and draw up a design for the dam. The project was put on hold during the Chinese Civil War, but was promptly resumed after the Chinese Communist Party took power with Chairman Mao Zedong as their leader. Once again, the project was put on hold due to the trouble that arose from the Cultural Revolution and Great Leap Forward plan. Finally, the idea of the dam was brought up again in the late twentieth century, and the National People’s Congress approved of the project in 1992; surprisingly, a third of the delegates did not approve of this plan, which exemplified a relatively low approval rate for China’s National People’s Congress. Nonetheless, the main body of the dam was completed in 2006, and the Three Gorges Dam became fully operational in 2012.
Now, let’s discuss other aspects of the Three Gorges Dam. For starters, the construction of the dam resulted in the displacement of approximately 1.4 million people; houses were demolished, communities were broken up, and people’s livelihoods were disrupted. Many of the residents who were displaced were farmers and claimed that the government had not given adequate recompensation for their displacement, as the residents were forced to abandon their farms and, as a result, could no longer generate a stable income. Moreover, the Three Gorges Dam is said to have disrupted the habitat of several species of fish, which is causing a decline in fish biodiversity in the Yangtze River. Furthermore, geologists fear that the dam may have severe geological impacts. For instance, because the dam sits on two major fault lines, there is concern that quick changes in water pressure during flood seasons may trigger earthquakes. Additionally, the water level changes caused by the dam result in the erosion nearby land, which result in dangerous landslides. Recently, in 2020, floods have been worsening in China with massive rain storms of increasing frequency, and the reservoir levels of the Three Gorges Dam have reached peaks of about 164 meters, which is dangerously close to the maximum reservoir level of 175 meters. Furthermore, rumors claiming that there were reports of cracks and deformations on the Three Gorges Dam only increase people’s anxiety about the potential bursting of the dam. Despite the controversies surrounding the dam, one thing is for certain: the Three Gorges Dam is a monumental structure that serves as a testament to China’s technological prowess.
Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/china-three-gorges-dam-intl-hnk-dst/index.html
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Three-Gorges-Dam
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2020/09/01/commentary/world-commentary/big-china-disaster/
Wow great article Andrew! I’m surprised that I’ve never heard of this dam before given its magnitude and importance. It’s really amazing to see how much renewable power it’s able to generate, exemplifying the world’s trend towards battling climate change and promoting renewable energy. It’s also really sad to see the amount of sacrifices and future problems that might arise from this enormous project. All in all, very interesting and informational article.
Wow this truly looks magnificent. It’s great to see that the dam is having such a positive impact by harvesting renewable energy and protecting land from floods. But it’s also terrible that the dam is causing the decrease in the biodiversity of fish species in the Yangtze River and may even cause earthquakes. I think with further maintenance, the dam can do more harm than good, and this will ease the anxiety of inspectors.
Wow, this looks huge! Nice job on informing us about the history and benefits and downsides of this dam. It was really interesting to learn about how it was envisioned ever since 1919, and it has finally become a reality. Though its benefits are plentiful, hearing that so many families and people were broken made me wonder whether it was really worth it.
I really like how informative the article is! This is my first time hearing about the Three Gorges Dam, so I had no idea it was the world’s largest hydroelectric dam. However, you did bring up some good points about its pros and cons. While it generates a great amount of power, prevents devastating floods, and serves as a backup source of water during times of drought, it has also ruined millions of farmers’ lives, caused a decrease in the biodiversity of fish native to the Yangtze River, and has even been suspected of causing multiple different natural disasters, such as earthquakes and landslides. Personally, I believe that the costs outweigh the benefits and that the money used to fund this project should have been used for something else.
Very interesting article. I think the engineering behind the dam is incredible. It is very powerful and clearly a impressive thing to have been built. But the downsides are way too bad. I know a lot of animals have gone extinct due to this dam, or are currently endangered. In addition to all the floods and landslides, this is clearly doing more harm
Good article Andrew! This dam looks very massive and looks like it will be very useful in the future. The project seems to have taken a massive amount of resources. I will say though that it is quite sad that millions of people had to move away and have their homes destroyed in order for this dam to be made. The government also did not help them which is going to make it hard on the farmers that had to move away.