The Three Gorges Project
The Three Gorges Project is really interesting. It involves building a dam on the Yangtze River that will be longest dam ever in the world on the Yangtze River. It will cost 25 billion dollars and will be used for flood control, power generation, and navigation, but over 1 million people will have to be moved because the water level will have risen.
On December 14th, 1994, the Chinese announced that construction of the Three Gorges Dam had begun. When we visited it, it was mostly done, and the government says it will be done in 2009. It is a really, really big construction project, using more concrete than any other man-made project in the history of the world.
The dam is 2.3 kilometers long, which is about 18 times longer than it is from home plate to center field in Fenway Park, and is 181 meters tall. The dam has a five step ship lock, which is 1,607 meters long. A ship lock is like a bath tub that boats come into, with gates behind it and in front of it. Once the doors are closed, they pump water in or out to move the ship up or down, before opening the front door and letting the ship move to the next lock. It took our boat about three hours to get through five locks.
The dam will also have a ship elevator to lift smaller boats more quickly, but it isn’t ready yet. The elevator can lift 3,000 ton ships in about 45 minutes and is the biggest ship elevator in the world. While it is lifting a 3,000 ton ship, it is also lifting 7,000 tons of water so that the boat can float on water as it comes up or down.
The power generator is so strong that it could provide enough energy for 4 to 5 New York Cities. The dam includes two power generators. It provides energy by using turbines that water runs through to make electricity without pollution.
The dam is really cool and it’s one of my favorite things in China.
October 8th, 2007 at 7:02 am
Dear Gibson and Family,
My mother, Jeanne Machado, sent me your web address. She is a friend of Marcia Douglas, who worked with your dad in Boston. Anyway, I just have to say that I LOVE your site and reading about your adventures! I plan on sharing your stories with my third grade class in Foxboro, MA. They are just going to love reading about your travels. Thank you for creating such an informative blog. What a lucky family you are to travel around the world like this! Best wishes~!
Sincerely,
Karen Washburn