 There is a dream that has lasted for generations along the Yangzte River in China. Today, the successful trial navigation at the Three Gorges Dam, to some extents, has made the dream of taming the river come true.
The world-renown Three Gorges project has undergone a historic moment this week. The successful trial navigation through the newly built ship locks marked a milestone for the whole project. Several decades have witnessed careful planning, design and redesign as well as the challenging construction process. It is a project built to last.
Despite the great efforts made by the Chinese government in the protection of the historic relics in the Three Gorges, it is hard to keep them totally intact. A certain amount of the ancient heritage has been submerged in the Three Gorges Reservoir. However, more people will benefit from the modern Three Gorges project, which is aimed at flood containment, high-capacity navigation as well as electric power generation.
Zeng Peiyan, vice premier of People’s Republic of China declared that the trial navigation through the two-line five-stair ship locks of the Yangtze River’s Three Gorges now starts.
On June 16, 2003, the ceremony of trial navigation was held at the Three Gorges where banners swung and drums resonated. Two passenger ships went downstream and another five freight ships went upstream through the five-stair ship locks, which run about 1.4 kilometers. It took a little more than two hours for the ships to cross the dam. This signaled the resumption of shipping along the Yangtze River after a 67-day suspension. People cheered and hailed along the ship locks. They were so pleased to be witnessing the historic moment.
At the stern stood two senior people who looked as happy as two kids. They are the key figures in the Three Gorges project—Zhang Chaoran, chief engineer of Three Gorges Corporation and Song Weibang, chief designer of Three Gorges Navigation Buildings Section.
“This is a dream that has lasted for 100 years. After 40 years of design and disccusssions not to mention the construction, which took 10 years, it has been finally won,” said Zhang Chaoran.
“At this moment, I’m very excited. Several times, my eyes were full of tears just then. I’m proud of my great nation, of the Chinese people and of the mass of technicians and building soldiers working at the hydropower front,” said Song Weibang.
When the water level in the Three Gorges reservoir reaches 175 meters, the biggest drop between the upper and lower reaches will be about 113 meters. If a ship goes upstream, it arrives at the end after climbing 40 floors of a building. To make this process workable, the ship locks were built in a five-stair style. When a ship enters the first lock from the lower reaches, the sluice gate behind will close and the gate ahead will open to allow the water from the upper lock to flow into the lower one. When the water levels in both locks become equal, the ship will smoothly enter the upper ship lock. And the following steps are just like the previous one. It will take a total of two to three hours to finish the whole process. This five-stair ship lock can be considered a masterpiece compared with all other ship locks around the world.
Being the world’s largest, the Three Gorges ship locks were designed to facilitate navigation and to allow ocean going vessels to continue inland shipping along the Yangtze River. When the water level in the Three Gorges Reservoir rises to 175 meters, ships with a capacity of up to 10,000 tons can directly reach Chongqing from Shanghai through the Three Gorges Dam. The freight volumes over this channel will be 20 times those currently carried on the Beijing-Guangzhou railway. So today’s successful navigation signifies a milestone in the history of shipping on the Yangtze River.
Furthermore, according to some experts, the convenience resulting from the new Three Gorges shipping channel will help promote China’s campaign to boost the economy of the vast western regions. One real and instant benefit is the Three Gorges Dam itself. It turns out to be a wonderful scene for travelers from China and abroad.
The completion of the filling in the Three Gorges Reservoir last week ushered in the first batch of travelers. They very much appreciated the Three Gorges’ new scenery.
With the river widened after the Three Gorges dam was built, there are more scenic places in addition to the previous ones. Tourists now have more choices in terms of both the mode of travel and the destinations. They can visit the steep hills as well as tranquil lakes through both land and water routes.
At the Daning River, the biggest branch of the Three Gorges, there lies the Small Three Gorges, a fairyland located within the Wushan town. It was noted for its torrents and cliffs. Now the area where the Daning River merges into the Yangtze River is widened to over 1,000 meters from its previous 300 meters, making it the largest lake-within-the-river in the Three Gorges Reservoir.
After the filling of the Three Gorges, the new and old sceneries will complement each other. The previous Caotang River under the foot of the noted ancient White Emperor City has been turned into a beautiful lake. The White Emperor City itself has also transformed into a peninsula, which will attract more tourists.
“In about 10 days, the chiefs of nearly 200 companies have come to discuss business opportunities with us to develop the White Emperor City and the Qutang Gorge. We’re training tour guides. And all kinds of preparatory work are almost ready,” said Zhang Changlong, deputy chief of Fengjie Town’s Culture and Tourism Bureau of Chongqing Municipality.
On one hand, water conservation enriches the Three Gorges’s scenic spots, on the other hand, it broadens the business opportunities beyond the Three Gorges. Some beautiful scenery once hidden in remote areas is available to us now. And the sightseeing adventures give travelers a lot more pleasure.
The construction of the Three Gorges project put the preservation of historic relics on the top of the government officials’ work list. Regarding it as one of the priorities to save the cultural heritage for generations to come, the relevant departments have taken many necessary measures. For instance, some ancient temples at the places where the water would eventually rise were rebuilt in strict accordance with the original models. At the Qutang Gorge, the precious ancient scripts on the cliffs were transferred to a safe place. A special dock was set up for the tourists to admire these cultural relics at close hand.
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