August 6, 2010 - Yichang, Hubei, China
 |
| Trash Island behind Three Gorges Dam |
“Walls of stone will stand upstream to the west
To hold back Wushan's clouds and rain
Till a smooth lake rises in the narrow gorges.”
~Mao Zedong
Last night our cruise ship was first in line to enter the Three Gorges Dam locks elevator, around 9pm. The locks elevator can hold eight boats at one time and with the incredible amount of traffic on the Yangtze River, this quota is constantly met. The five locks elevator from the Upper to the Lower Yangtze took over four hours – arriving down river around 2am. The combination of flooding and acceptance of throwing trash in the river has created an incredible amount of garbage built up behind the Three Gorges Dam. Within the locks elevator there was so much trash it appeared the boats were floating on rubbish, not water.
I am rarely astonished by man-made development, but the Three Gorges Dam is mind-blowing. Expanding over a mile in across, in reality the Three Gorges Dam is miles and miles of concrete expanding in every direction. In today’s smog laden morning, viewing the dam’s opposing shore was not possible, creating an appearance of endlessness. With jaws drooped, one of my European travel mates stated, “This is modern China.”
There are endless positive and negative consequences of the Three Gorges Dam construction.
Some speculation –
+ Weight from the dam’s massive reservoir could alter the earths tilt
+ The dam sits on two fault lines – weight from the reservoir could create earthquakes
+ Increase in landslides & erosion is obvious – silt could fill up behind the dam
+ American engineers estimate the bottom 60% of the dam has no steal reinforcement, creating an incredibly unstable man-made disaster waiting to happen
An observation – As we navigate through numerous Yangtze River towns, it is obvious many people have been displaced by the rising waters. We see some of these people living in the shells of buildings under construction.
An opinion – Since boarding the Victoria Princess, we have encountered at least 50 coal filled cargo vessels heading towards Shanghai, any beyond, to fuel modern China. “Modern China” is rooted in circumspect rapid expansion and environmental degradation.
Today's Victoria Princess Cruise Schedule
To hold back Wushan's clouds and rain
Till a smooth lake rises in the narrow gorges.”
~Mao Zedong
Last night our cruise ship was first in line to enter the Three Gorges Dam locks elevator, around 9pm. The locks elevator can hold eight boats at one time and with the incredible amount of traffic on the Yangtze River, this quota is constantly met. The five locks elevator from the Upper to the Lower Yangtze took over four hours – arriving down river around 2am. The combination of flooding and acceptance of throwing trash in the river has created an incredible amount of garbage built up behind the Three Gorges Dam. Within the locks elevator there was so much trash it appeared the boats were floating on rubbish, not water.
I am rarely astonished by man-made development, but the Three Gorges Dam is mind-blowing. Expanding over a mile in across, in reality the Three Gorges Dam is miles and miles of concrete expanding in every direction. In today’s smog laden morning, viewing the dam’s opposing shore was not possible, creating an appearance of endlessness. With jaws drooped, one of my European travel mates stated, “This is modern China.”
There are endless positive and negative consequences of the Three Gorges Dam construction.
Some speculation –
+ Weight from the dam’s massive reservoir could alter the earths tilt
+ The dam sits on two fault lines – weight from the reservoir could create earthquakes
+ Increase in landslides & erosion is obvious – silt could fill up behind the dam
+ American engineers estimate the bottom 60% of the dam has no steal reinforcement, creating an incredibly unstable man-made disaster waiting to happen
An observation – As we navigate through numerous Yangtze River towns, it is obvious many people have been displaced by the rising waters. We see some of these people living in the shells of buildings under construction.
An opinion – Since boarding the Victoria Princess, we have encountered at least 50 coal filled cargo vessels heading towards Shanghai, any beyond, to fuel modern China. “Modern China” is rooted in circumspect rapid expansion and environmental degradation.
Today's Victoria Princess Cruise Schedule
06:15 Morning music call
06:45 Breakfast served in Dynasty Dining Room
07:30 Passengers disembark for Three Gorges Dam visit
10:00 Passengers return to boat
10:20 Enter Xiling Gorge (third gorge)
12:00 Passengers disembark
