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74-743: The gorge is part of Fengjie County of the Chongqing Municipality. Baidicheng was an ancient city on the northern shore of the Yangtze River. Baidicheng was also where Liu Bei , first emperor of the Kingdom of Shu during the Three Kingdoms era, died. There is a Liu Bei Memorial Temple and a Zhuge Liang Memorial Temple in Baidicheng. Baidicheng is a major tourist attraction of a Yangtse cruise. The Chalk Wall (粉筆牆)

148-495: A flat rate of ¥250 per MWh (US$ 35.7) until July 2, 2008. Since then, the price has varied by province, from ¥228.7 to ¥401.8 per MWh. Higher-paying customers, such as Shanghai , receive priority. Nine provinces and two cities consume power from the dam. Power distribution and transmission infrastructure cost about 34.387 billion yuan. Construction was completed in December 2007, one year ahead of schedule. Power

222-427: A flood in the same area caused billions of dollars worth of damage, when 2,039 km (787 sq mi) of farmland were flooded. The flood affected more than 2.3 million people, killing 1,526. In early August 2009, the largest flood in five years passed through the dam site. During this flood, the dam limited the water flow to less than 40,000 m /s (1.4 million cu ft/s) per second, raising

296-431: A kind of elevator for vessels. The ship lift can lift ships of up to 3,000 tons. The vertical distance traveled is 113 m (371 ft), and the size of the ship lift's basin is 120 m × 18 m × 3.5 m (394 ft × 59 ft × 11 ft). The ship lift takes 30 to 40 minutes to transit, as opposed to the three to four hours for stepping through the locks. One complicating factor

370-782: A large dam across the Yangtze River in The International Development of China (1919). He wrote that a dam capable of generating 30 million horsepower (22 GW) was possible downstream of the Three Gorges . In 1932, the Nationalist government , led by Chiang Kai-shek , began preliminary work on plans in the Three Gorges. In 1939, during the Second Sino-Japanese War , Japanese military forces occupied Yichang and surveyed

444-477: A total of 198 million tonnes of freight passed through the locks. The freight capacity of the river increased six times and the cost of shipping was reduced by 25%. Originally, the total capacity of the ship locks was expected to reach 100 million tonnes per year. In 2022, their cargo turnover reached 159.65 million tons, with an annual increase of 6% over the past few years. These locks are staircase locks , whereby inner lock gate pairs serve as both

518-537: A total of 22,500 MW. Among the 32 main generators, 14 are installed on the dam's north side, 12 on the south side, and the remaining six in the underground power plant in the mountain south of the dam. Annual electricity generation in 2018 was 101.6 TWh, which is 20 times more than the Hoover Dam . The main generators each weigh approximately 6,000 tonnes and are designed to produce more than 700 MW of power each. The designed hydraulic head of

592-422: A walk-way several places in the Three Gorges region. Poles were inserted into the holes and then either a walkway could be constructed or a person could walk from pole to pole. Historians do not know why these particular holes were constructed, nor do they know why they only reach part of the way up the cliff face. Remains of city walls have been located at the top of the cliff, and some historians have theorized that

666-566: Is a rock shaped like an upside down person. This is the Hanging Monk Rock (倒吊和尚). According to legend, when Meng Liang discovered that the monk had feigned a rooster call, and frightened him off the mountain, he was so angry that he found the monk and hung him upside down from the cliff face. Along the cliff face near the Chalk Wall and Meng Liang's Stairway there are a number of caves . Dripping water from natural springs within

740-698: Is a white cliff face on the southern bank of the Yangtze River at the entrance to the Qutang Gorge (Kuimen Gate). The Chalk Wall has numerous characters carved into the rock, many of which were done by famous Chinese calligraphers . Nearly 1,000 characters in all are carved into the rock wall, with the oldest dating to the Song dynasty (960–1279). The wall has characters carved in many different styles of calligraphy and in various sizes. The largest characters are approximately 1.7 metres (6 ft) wide. On

814-500: Is also carried out such as the growing of tobacco, navel oranges, cotton, walnuts, and silkworm farming. Fengjie has one Yangtze River crossing , the Fengjie Yangtze River Bridge . Chen Maoguo ( simplified Chinese : 陈茂国 ; traditional Chinese : 陳茂國 ; pinyin : chén mào guó , aka the "bird man", Chinese “ 鸟人 ”) protested against the low compensation received from relocation plans following

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888-544: Is distributed over multiple 500 kV transmission lines. Three direct current (DC) lines to the East China Grid carry 7,200 MW: Three Gorges – Shanghai (3,000 MW), HVDC Three Gorges – Changzhou (3,000 MW), and HVDC Gezhouba – Shanghai (1,200 MW). The alternating current (AC) lines to the Central China Grid have a total capacity of 12,000 MW. The DC transmission line HVDC Three Gorges – Guangdong to

962-448: Is enough flow, power output is limited by plant generating capacity. The maximum power-output curves were calculated based on the average flow rate at the dam site, assuming the water level is 175 m and the plant gross efficiency is 90.15%. The actual power output in 2008 was obtained based on the monthly electricity sent to the grid. The Three Gorges Dam reached its design-maximum reservoir water level of 175 m (574 ft) for

1036-604: Is home to 6,388 plant species, which belong to 238 families and 1,508 genera. Of these species, 57 are endangered. These rare species are also used as ingredients in traditional Chinese medicines. The proportion of forested area in the region surrounding the Three Gorges Dam dropped from 20% in 1950 to less than 10% as of 2002, adversely affecting all plant species there. The region also provides habitats to hundreds of freshwater and terrestrial animal species. Freshwater fish are especially affected by dams due to changes in

1110-511: Is made up of five stages, with transit time at around four hours. Maximum vessel size is 10,000 tons. The locks are 280 m long, 35 m wide, and 5 m deep (918 × 114 × 16.4 ft). That is 30 m (98 ft) longer than those on the St Lawrence Seaway , but half as deep. Before the dam was constructed, the maximum freight capacity at the Three Gorges site was 18.0 million tonnes per year. From 2004 to 2007,

1184-715: The 1949 Communist Revolution , Mao Zedong supported the project, but began the Gezhouba Dam project nearby first, and economic problems including the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution slowed progress. After the 1954 Yangtze River Floods , in 1956, Mao wrote " Swimming ", a poem about his fascination with a dam on the Yangtze River. In 1958, after the Hundred Flowers Campaign , some engineers who spoke out against

1258-504: The Gezhouba Dam , loans from the China Development Bank , loans from domestic and foreign commercial banks, corporate bonds , and revenue from both before and after the dam had become fully operational. Additional charges were assessed as follows: every province receiving power from the Three Gorges Dam had to pay an extra ¥7.00 per MWh, and the other provinces had to pay an additional charge of ¥4.00 per MWh. No surcharge

1332-465: The Itaipu Dam . The Chinese government estimated that the Three Gorges Dam project would cost 180 billion yuan (US$ 22.5 billion). By the end of 2008, spending had reached 148.365 billion yuan, of which 64.613 billion yuan was spent on construction, 68.557 billion yuan on relocating affected residents, and 15.195 billion yuan on financing. It was estimated in 2009 that

1406-554: The Jingguang Railway was out of service for more than 100 days. The 1954 flood carried 50 cubic kilometres (12 cu mi) of water. The dam could only divert the water above Chenglingji, leaving 30 to 40 km (7.2 to 9.6 cu mi) to be diverted. The dam cannot protect against some of the large tributaries downstream, including the Xiang , Zishui , Yuanshui , Lishui , Hanshui , and Gan . In 1998,

1480-473: The Ministry of Environmental Protection , as of April 2007, more than 50 new plants could treat 1.84 million tonnes per day, 65% of the total need. About 32 landfills were added, which could handle 7,664.5 tonnes of solid waste every day. Over one billion tons of wastewater are released annually into the river, which was more likely to be swept away before the reservoir was created. This has left

1554-478: The National Development and Reform Commission , 366 grams of coal would produce 1 kWh of electricity during 2006. From 2003 to 2007, power production equaled that of 84 million tonnes of standard coal. Two hazards are uniquely identified with the dam: that sedimentation projections are not agreed upon, and that the dam sits on a seismic fault . At current levels, 80% of the land in

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1628-462: The Three Gorges . The world's largest power station in terms of installed capacity (22,500  MW ), the Three Gorges Dam generates 95±20  TWh of electricity per year on average, depending on the amount of precipitation in the river basin. After the extensive monsoon rainfalls of 2020, the dam's annual production reached nearly 112 TWh, breaking the previous world record of ~103 TWh set by Itaipu Dam in 2016. The dam's body

1702-681: The Three Gorges Dam , it is within the dam's affected area . The county's most famous geographical feature is the Qutang Gorge , the first of the Yangtze's Three Gorges . Notable karst phenomena, including the Xiaozhai Tiankeng sinkhole are located within the county. It is the place where Still Life was shot, a film by Jia Zhangke that won the 2006 Venice Film Festival ( Golden Lion ). The Fengjie county

1776-488: The 1990s. This is largely due to China's large reforestation effort . This accelerated after the 1998 Yangtze River floods convinced the government that it should restore tree cover, especially in the Yangtze's basin upstream of the Three Gorges Dam. Concerns about the dam's impact on wildlife predate the National People's Congress's approval in 1992. This region has long been known for its rich biodiversity. It

1850-489: The Bellows Gorge. 31°02′35″N 109°33′42″E  /  31.04306°N 109.56167°E  / 31.04306; 109.56167 Fengjie County Fengjie County ( simplified Chinese : 奉节 县 ; traditional Chinese : 奉節 縣 ; pinyin : Fèngjié Xiàn ) is a county of Chongqing Municipality , China. It is on the Yangtze River ; located within a couple hundreds kilometers upstream from

1924-527: The Qutang Gorge has been especially large. Many of the historically significant sites in the Qutang Gorge are located closer to the water level. Even prior to the dam construction the water level would come close to many sites during the rainy season. The water has now covered many of the important sites in the Gorge including the Ancient Pathway, Meng Liang's Staircase, the Chalk Wall, and the cave within

1998-573: The South China Grid has a capacity of 3,000 MW. The dam was expected to provide 10% of China's power. However, electricity demand has increased more quickly than previously projected. Even fully operational and despite its size, on average, it supported only about 1.7% of electricity demand in China in the year of 2011, when the Chinese electricity demand reached 4,692.8 TWh. According to

2072-560: The Three Gorges Dam directly caused the extinction of the baiji. Of the 3,000 to 4,000 remaining critically endangered Siberian crane , many spend the winter in wetlands that the Three Gorges Dam will destroy. Populations of the Yangtze sturgeon are guaranteed to be "negatively affected" by the dam. In 2022 the Chinese paddlefish was declared extinct, with the last confirmed sighting in 2003. In 2005, NASA scientists calculated that

2146-472: The Three Gorges Dam is 22,500 MW. The last major component of the project, the ship lift, was completed in 2015. In addition to generating electricity, the dam was designed to increase the Yangtze River's shipping capacity. By providing flood storage space, the dam reduces the potential for flooding downstream, which historically plagued the Yangtze Plain . In 1931, floods on the river caused

2220-433: The area is eroding, depositing about 40 million tons of sediment into the Yangtze annually. Because the flow is slower above the dam, much of this sediment settles there instead of flowing downstream, and there is less sediment downstream. The absence of silt downstream has three effects: Erosion in the reservoir, induced by rising water, causes frequent major landslides that have led to noticeable disturbance in

2294-549: The area. In 1944, the United States Bureau of Reclamation 's head design engineer, John L. Savage , surveyed the area and drew up a dam proposal for a "Yangtze River Project". Some 54 Chinese engineers went to the US for training. The original plans called for the dam to employ a unique method for moving ships: the ships would enter locks at the dam's lower and upper ends and then cranes would move them from each lock to

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2368-507: The caves have created many stalactites . One particular stalactite is approximately 10 metres (33 ft) high, and it is shaped like a Phoenix displaying its tail feathers. Moss and bamboo growing next to the formation look like feathers on a bird. Water still drips from the head of the stalactite bird, and hence the Chinese have dubbed it the Drinking Phoenix Spring (鳳凰泉). The formation is extremely difficult to see from

2442-455: The cliff's vertical faces such as mountains, are placed in caves in the face of cliffs, or sit on natural rock projections on mountain faces. A rock formation that resembles a rhinoceros with head raised. The Daxi settlement was the first discovered site of the Daxi culture . Although the Qutang Gorge is the furthest upstream of all the affected gorges, the impact of the Three Gorges Dam on

2516-533: The construction of a road entailing the demolition of his house. He was sentenced to prison for 3 years. Three Gorges Dam This is an accepted version of this page The Three Gorges Dam ( simplified Chinese : 三峡大坝 ; traditional Chinese : 三峽大壩 ; pinyin : Sānxiá Dàbà ) is a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans the Yangtze River near Sandouping in Yiling District , Yichang , Hubei province, central China, downstream of

2590-524: The cost of construction would be fully recouped when the dam had generated 1,000 terawatt-hours (3,600 PJ) of electricity, yielding 250 billion yuan; total cost recovery was thus expected to be completed ten years after the dam became fully operational. In fact, the entire cost of the Three Gorges Dam was recovered by December 20, 2013. Funding sources include the Three Gorges Dam Construction Fund, profits from

2664-570: The course of the dry season. During the South China floods in July 2010 , inflows at the Three Gorges Dam reached a peak of 70,000 m /s (2.5 million cu ft/s), exceeding the peak inflow during the 1998 Yangtze River floods . The dam's reservoir rose nearly 3 m (9.8 ft) in 24 hours and reduced the outflow to 40,000 m /s (1.4 million cu ft/s) in discharges downstream, preventing any significant impact on

2738-422: The dam generated an average of 97.22 TWh of electricity per year, higher than Itaipu dam's average of 89.22 TWh of electricity per year during the same period. Due to the extensive 2020 monsoon season rainfall, the annual production reached ~112 TWh that year, which broke the previous world record of annual production by Itaipu Dam equal to ~103 TWh. The State Grid Corporation and China Southern Power Grid paid

2812-484: The dam is to control flooding, which is a major problem for the seasonal river of the Yangtze. Millions of people live downstream of the dam, with many large, important cities like Wuhan , Nanjing , and Shanghai located adjacent to the river. Large areas of farmland and China's most important industrial area are situated beside the river. The reservoir's flood storage capacity is 22 km (5.3  cu mi ; 18 million  acre⋅ft ). This capacity will reduce

2886-411: The dam reservoir is on average about 660 km (410 mi) in length and 1.12 km (3,675 ft) in width. It contains 39.3 km (31,900,000  acre⋅ft ) of water and has a total surface area of 1,045 km (403 sq mi). On completion, the reservoir flooded a total area of 632 km (156,000 acres) of land, compared to the 1,350 km (330,000 acres) of reservoir created by

2960-402: The dam wall), used 463,000 tonnes of steel (enough to build 63 Eiffel Towers ), and moved about 102.6 million m (134.2 million cu yd) of earth. The concrete dam wall is 181 m (594 ft) high above the rock basis. When the water level is at its maximum of 175 m (574 ft) above sea level, 110 m (361 ft) higher than the river level downstream,

3034-426: The deaths of up to 4 million people. As a result, China regards the project as a monumental social and economical success, with the design of state-of-the-art large turbines and a move toward limiting greenhouse gas emissions . However, the dam has led to some ecological changes, including an increased risk of landslides, which have made it controversial domestically and abroad. Sun Yat-sen envisioned

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3108-606: The earliest days, boats going downstream used oars just to get steerage way. Going upstream, human powered oars were no match to the rapid current. Thus gangs of humans, harnessed to a tow rope, hauled the boats upstream. These haulers needed a path along the steep cliffs to walk on. Thus the Ancient Pathways were built. Even today haulers can be seen as in 天山網. Over the years, these paths were expanded and improved. In addition to paths for haulers, paths were built for hauling goods up mountains. These higher paths would survive

3182-499: The end of 2008, the population of the county is 1.04 million with male population of 540,000 persons, accounting for 51.9% and female population of 500,000 persons, accounting for 48.1%. Subdistricts: Towns: Townships: The GDP of Fengjie County ranked 25th among 40 county-level divisions (counties and districts) in Chongqing and 6th among all divisions in the northeast of Chongqing (11 counties and districts) in 2007. In 2007,

3256-512: The family income for the local rural residents. In some families, all the members are migrant labor. Their major occupations in urban areas cover restaurant operation, retailing and private business. The area of land cultivated is 58,933 ha and with a per-capita land area of 0.85 mu . The major crops grown in the area include rice, corn, potato, sweet potato, oil plant and vegetable and major animals raised include pigs, cattle, sheep, poultry and fish. Apart from conventional agriculture, cash cropping

3330-445: The first time on October 26, 2010, in which the intended annual power-generation capacity of 84.7 TWh was realized. It has a combined generating capacity of 22.5 gigawatts and a designed annual generation capacity of 88.2 TWh. In 2012, the dam's 32 generating units generated a record 98.1 TWh of electricity, which accounts for 14% of China's total hydro generation. Between 2012 (first year with all 32 generating units operating) and 2021,

3404-452: The flooding after the Three Gorges Dam is complete. Hanging coffins are a method of ceremonially placing the corpses of the deceased upon cliff sides, an ancient funeral custom of some minority groups , especially the Bo people of southern China. Coffins of various significant shapes were often carved out of a whole piece of wood. Hanging coffins either rest upon beams projecting outward from

3478-420: The frequency of major downstream flooding from once every 10 years to once every 100 years. The dam is expected to minimize the effect of even a "super" flood. The river flooded in 1954 over an area of 193,000 km (74,500 sq mi), killing 33,169 people and forcing almost 18.9 million people to move. The flood waters covered Wuhan, a city of eight million people, for over three months, and

3552-402: The generator rotors have 80 poles. Rated power is 778 MVA , with a maximum of 840 MVA and a power factor of 0.9. The generator produces electrical power at 20  kV . The electricity generated is then stepped up to 500 kV for transmission at 50 Hz. The generator's stator , the biggest of its kind, is 3.1/3 m in height; the outer diameter of the stator is 21.4/20.9 m,

3626-454: The generators is 80.6 metres (264 ft). The flow rate varies between 600–950 cubic metres per second (21,000–34,000 cu ft/s) depending on the head available; the greater the head, the less water needed to reach full power. Three Gorges uses Francis turbines with a diameter of 9.7/10.4 m (VGS design/Alstom's design) and a rotation speed of 75 revolutions per minute. This means that in order to generate power at 50  Hz ,

3700-477: The inner diameter is 18.5/18.8 m, and the bearing load is 5,050/5,500 tonnes. Average efficiency is over 94%, with a maximum efficiency of 96.5% reached. The generators were manufactured by two joint ventures: Alstom , ABB , Kvaerner , and the Chinese company Harbin Motor; and Voith , General Electric , Siemens (abbreviated as VGS), and the Chinese company Oriental Motor. The technology transfer agreement

3774-472: The last main generator (No. 27) finished its final test on May 23, 2012, the six underground main generators were all operational, raising the capacity to 22.5 GW. After nine years of construction, installation and testing, the power plant was fully operational by July 2012. By August 16, 2011, the plant had generated 500 TWh of electricity. In July 2008 it generated 10.3 TWh of electricity, its first month over 10 TWh. On June 30, 2009, after

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3848-503: The middle and lower river. The installation of ship locks is intended to increase river shipping from ten million to 100 million tonnes annually; as a result transportation costs will be cut between 30 and 37%. Shipping will become safer, since the gorges are notoriously dangerous to navigate. There are two series of ship locks installed near the dam ( 30°50′12″N 111°1′10″E  /  30.83667°N 111.01944°E  / 30.83667; 111.01944 ). Each of them

3922-537: The next. Groups of craft would be lifted together for efficiency. It is not known whether this solution was considered for its water-saving performance or because the engineers thought the difference in height between the river above and below the dam too great for alternative methods. No construction work was performed because of the Nationalists' worsening situation in the Chinese Civil War. After

3996-585: The pathway might have been intended to enable a person to access the city from the river. Another set of similar holes can be found near Wushan in the Little Three Gorges (小三峽) of the Daning River (大寧河). The local tourism agency in Wushan has placed poles in some of these holes so that tourists can see how they were used in ancient times. On the cliff face near Meng Liang's Staircase there

4070-492: The per capita net income of the peasants in Fengjie County is CNY 2,717. It is known that the "collectively owned" land in Fengjie County were allocated the second time in 2005 after the first time in 1982-1983. Since then, the land has not been reallocated. Fengjie County Government encourages rural residents affected by development projects to become urban residents. Migrant labor constitutes also an important part of

4144-522: The project were imprisoned. During China's emphasis on the Four Modernizations during its early period of Reform and Opening Up , The Communist Party revived plans for the dam and proposed to start construction in 1986. It emphasized the need to develop hydroelectric power. The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference became a center of opposition to the proposed dam. It convened panels of experts who recommended delaying

4218-490: The project. The National People's Congress approved the dam in 1992: of 2,633 delegates, 1,767 voted in favour, 177 voted against, 664 abstained, and 25 members did not vote, giving the legislation an unusually low 67.75% approval rate. Construction started on December 14, 1994. The dam was expected to be fully operational in 2009, but additional projects, such as the underground power plant with six additional generators, delayed full operation until 2012. The ship lift

4292-511: The reservoir surface, including two incidents in May 2009 when somewhere between 20,000 and 50,000 cubic metres (26,000 and 65,000 cu yd) of material plunged into the flooded Wuxia Gorge of the Wu River . In the first four months of 2010, there were 97 significant landslides. The dam catalyzed improved upstream wastewater treatment around Chongqing and its suburban areas. According to

4366-458: The river downstream, providing fresh water for agricultural and industrial usage, and improving shipping conditions. The water level upstream drops from 175 to 145 m (574 to 476 ft), in preparation for the rainy season. The water also powers the Gezhouba Dam downstream. Since the filling of the reservoir in 2003, the Three Gorges Dam has supplied an extra 11 km (2.6 cu mi) of fresh water to downstream cities and farms over

4440-475: The river flow rate increased to over 24,000 m /s, all 28 generators were switched on, producing only 16,100 MW because the head available during flood season is insufficient. During an August 2009 flood, the plant first reached its maximum output for a short period. During the November to May dry season, power output is limited by the river's flow rate, as seen in the diagrams on the right. When there

4514-460: The river, but there is a pathway that allows direct access to the caves. These narrow footpaths were built starting in the Western Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) and continued to be maintained and improved until the middle of the 20th century. The original purpose was to provide a footpath for human haulers to pull boats upstream. Thus they were always alongside cliffs next to the river. Since

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4588-535: The shift of water mass stored by the dams would increase the total length of the Earth 's day by 0.06 microseconds and make the Earth slightly more round in the middle and flat on the poles . A study published in 2022 in the journal Open Geosciences suggests that the change of reservoir water level affects the gravity field in western Sichuan, which in turn affects the seismicity in that area. An important function of

4662-499: The south side of the river (Baiyan Mountain) a series of rectangular holes is carven into the cliff face. The holes are almost exactly 1 metre apart and 1 metre deep. The holes zig-zag up part of the cliff face in a Z-shape. These holes are known as the Meng Liang Stairway (孟良梯). Legend has it that the holes were built by a Song dynasty soldier named Meng Liang (孟良). Meng Liang served for a general named Yang Jiye who

4736-399: The upper gate of the chamber below and the lower gate of the chamber above. The gates are the vulnerable hinged type, which, if damaged, could temporarily render the entire flight unusable. As there are separate sets of locks for upstream and downstream traffic, this system is more water efficient than bi-directional staircase locks. In addition to the canal locks, there is a ship lift ,

4810-415: The upstream water level from 145.13 m (476.1 ft) on August 1, to 152.88 m (501.6 ft) on August 8. A full 4.27 km (1.02 cu mi) of flood water was captured and the river flow was cut by as much as 15,000 m (530,000 cu ft) per second. The dam discharges its reservoir during the dry season every year, between December and March. This increases the flow rate of

4884-549: The water stagnant, polluted and murky. In 1997, the Three Gorges area had 10% forestation, down from 20% in the 1950s. Research by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization suggested that the Asia-Pacific region would gain about 6,000 km (2,300 sq mi) of forest by 2008. That is a significant change from the 13,000 km (5,000 sq mi) net loss of forest each year in

4958-483: The water temperature and flow regime. Many other fish are injured in the hydroelectric plants' turbine blades. This is particularly detrimental to the region's ecosystem because the Yangtze River basin is home to 361 different fish species and accounts for 27% of China's endangered freshwater fish species. Other aquatic species have been endangered by the dam, particularly the baiji, or Chinese river dolphin , now extinct. In fact, Chinese Government scholars even claim that

5032-401: Was buried at the top of the cliff. Meng Liang wanted to find the remains of General Yang and give him a proper burial back in his home town. During the night Meng Liang constructed the stairway. A monk at the top of the mountain saw him coming and crowed like a rooster. Meng Liang, thinking the morning had arrived, quickly abandoned his plan to avoid being caught. Holes such as these are used as

5106-421: Was completed in 2006; the power plant was completed and fully operational by 2012, when the last of the main water turbines in the underground plant began production. Each of the main water turbines has a capacity of 700 MW. Combining the capacity of the dam's 32 main turbines with the two smaller generators (50 MW each) that provide power to the plant itself, the total electric generating capacity of

5180-449: Was completed in 2015. The dam raised the water level in the reservoir to 172.5 m (566 ft) above sea level by 2008 and to the designed maximum level of 175 m (574 ft) by 2010. Made of concrete and steel, the dam is 2,335 m (2,554 yd; 1.451 mi) long and 185 m (607 ft) above sea level at its top. The project used 27.2 million m (35.6 million cu yd) of concrete (mainly for

5254-487: Was established in 314 BC as Yufu County (魚復縣). In 649 AD, the name was changed to Fengjie, an reference to the loyalty of Zhuge Liang . Fengjie County is located in the northeast of Chongqing, bordering Wushan County in the east, Enshi City ( Hubei ) in the south, Yunyang County in the west and Wuxi County in the north. It is 500 km (310 mi) away from downtown Chongqing, and administers 30 townships, 363 administrative villages and 23 residential committee. By

5328-438: Was eventually achieved on October 18, 2006, after the water level reached 156 meters. On the south side, main generator No. 22 started up on June 11, 2007, and No. 15 became operational on October 30, 2008. The sixth (No. 17) began operation on December 18, 2007, raising capacity to 14.1 GW, exceeding that of Itaipu dam (14.0 GW) to become the world's largest hydro power plant by capacity. When

5402-523: Was imposed on the Tibet Autonomous Region . Power generation is managed by China Yangtze Power , a listed subsidiary of China Three Gorges Corporation (CTGC), a Central Enterprise administered by SASAC . The Three Gorges Dam is the world's largest capacity hydroelectric power station, with 34 generators: 32 main generators, each with a capacity of 700 MW, and two plant power generators, each with capacity of 50 MW, for

5476-412: Was signed together with the contract. Most of the generators are water-cooled. Some of the newer ones are air-cooled, making them simpler in design and easier to manufacture and maintain. The first north-side main generator (No. 2) started up on July 10, 2003. The north side became completely operational on September 7, 2005, with the implementation of generator No. 9. Full power (9,800 MW)

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