Three Gorges Dam

The Three Gorges Dam (Simplified Chinese: 长江三峡大坝; Traditional Chinese: 長江三峽大壩; Pinyin: Chángjiāng Sānxiá Dà Bà) is a Chinese hydroelectric river dam which spans the Yangtze River in Sandouping, Yichang, Hubei province, China. As of 2007, it is the largest hydroelectric river dam in the world, more than five times the size of the Hoover Dam.

The dam is made of concrete and is about 2335 meters (7660 ft) long, and 185 meters (616 ft) high. In comparison, the tower of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA, is 227.4 meters. The dam is 115 meters wide on the bottom and 40 meters wide on top. The whole project moved about 134 million cubic meters of earth, used 28 million cubic meters of concrete and 463 thousand tons of steel, which is enough to build 63 Eiffel Towers. The reservoir is over 600 km long and can hold 39.3 cubic kilometers of water. The total capacity will reach 22 500 MW and claim the title to being the largest hydro-electric power station in the world.

The original idea of this dam was created by Sun Yat-sen in his 'The International Development of China' in 1919. After PRC was founded, several leaders were tempted to start the dam, but with limited ability, they started the Gezhouba Dam dam first. After the approval from the National People's Congress in April 3, 1992, the project was finally on the way to completion. Construction began in 1994 and structural work was finished on May 20, 2006, nine months ahead of schedule.

The reservoir began filling on June 1, 2003, and will occupy part of the scenic Three Gorges area, between the cities of Yichang, Hubei; and Fuling, Chongqing. However, several generators still have to be installed, and the dam is not expected to become fully operational until about 2009.

As with many dams, there is a debate over the costs and benefits of the Three Gorges Dam. Although there are economic benefits from flood control and hydroelectric power, there are also concerns about the future of 1.13 million people who will be displaced by the rising waters, the loss of many valuable archaeological and cultural sites, as well as the effects on the environment.