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A new cargo ship is lowered into the Yangtze River near Chongqing. The Three Gorges are home to the world's largest electricity-generating plant. Spa
A new cargo ship is lowered into the Yangtze River near Chongqing. The Three Gorges are home to the world's largest electricity-generating plant. Spanning the lower length of the Xiling Gorge, the dam was built to serve three purposes: electricity, increase the river's navigation capacity and reduce the potential for floods, which have claimed 350,000 lives in the last 200 years alone. But it has also flooded a reported 8,000 archaeological and cultural sites, 1,600 factories and abandoned mines, displacing million people (official figures - lobby groups place figures up to 50% more than this), and causing significant ecological changes, including an increased risk of landslides, sediment buildup and erosion. Riddled with corruption, a week after the dam started filling, in 2002, cracks appeared on the dam wall. Thanks to uncontrollable industry, parts of the Yangtze River - as shown - are critically polluted. Around 14 billion tonnes of waste are emptied into the river each year.
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Photo credit: © Leisa Tyler / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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