Three Gorges Dam is the largest water conservancy project ever undertaken. Begun in 1994, the structure was completed in 2006, and it will be fully operational by 2009. Originally proposed by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 1919, the Dam is now being built at Sandouping, in the middle of the Xiling Gorge.

The Three Gorges Dam will be 2,335 meters long, 185 meters high, 18 meters wide on the top and 130 meters wide at the bottom. The dam will raise the river to a level of 175 meters above sea level, creating a 600 kilometers long reservoir extending from the dam site all the way to Chongqing. It will submerge 570,000 acres of farmland, 13 cities, 140 towns, 1,352 villages, and 657 factories, causing 1.5 million people to be relocated.

The current estimate for construction of the project is US$70 billion. The building of this huge dam is for the purpose of flood control generation of electricity, navigation. Victoria’s ships now sail through its adjacent system of ship locks.