Changjiang - Sanxia Dam

Under construction on the Changjiang near Yichang is the huge and ecologically controversial Sanxia Dam, 2km/1/25mi long and 185m/600ft high, with the generating capacity of 16 nuclear power stations. As well as supplying electricity the dam will provide water for irrigation and enhance flood protection. To build the dam 1.5 million people are being resettled. The picturesque Three Gorges, which attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, will lose a great deal of their appeal.

Stage one was completed in 1997 with the blocking of two-thirds of the river's width.