5392 x 3600 px | 45,7 x 30,5 cm | 18 x 12 inches | 300dpi
Aufnahmedatum:
5. Juni 2009
Weitere Informationen:
Boats harbouring on the Yantze River at Yichang, the first major city downstream from the Three Gorges Dam. The world's largest electricity-generating plant, the dam spans the length of the Yangtze River after it has passed through the Three Gorges. It 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. First envisaged by Sun Yat-sen in 1919, the dam only began construction in 1994. It finished filling this year, in 2009. The dam has sparked tremendous controversy, flooding a reported 8, 000 archaeological and cultural sites, displacing 1.25 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. If broken, the resulting surge of water could wipe out the city of Yichang.
