Yichang 宜昌市

There are more than 340 scenic spots at Yichang (population 3.99 million). Among them are the Three Gorges and the Gezhouba Dam, two of China’s 40 best scenic spots. Other tourist attractions include the Three Gorges Dam三峡大坝, the ancient relics of the Three Kingdoms period (220-280) 三国遗址, the Qingjiang River清江, the Shennongjia Scenic Area神农架风景区, and the Dalaoling Virgin Forests大老岭原始森林.

Gezhouba Project 葛洲坝

Gezhouba Project is located at Yichang, one of the largest hydropower projects in the world. With a storage capacity of 39.3 billion cubic meters of water the reservoir submerged 632 square kilometers of land, originally belonging to Chongqing Municipality and Hubei Province respectively, causing noticeable changes to the hydrology, chemical properties and sediment of the river in the reservoir area. The reservoir will also make local air moister and will bring more rain to the area. The reservoir’s water surface and warm climate would form a “paradise” for birds. And it would also store abundant food for fish washed down from the local streams and rivers. It can generate 16 billion kilowatts of electricity every year.

According to experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the huge lake will function as an “air-conditioner,” lowering the temperature in nearby Chongqing Municipality by 5℃ during summer and raising its temperature by 3℃-5℃ during winter when the reservoir is completed by the year of 2009.

Situated 40 kilometers in the western part of Yichang in Hubei Province, the project consists of a 2,309-meter-long, 185-meter-tall dam, and 26 generating units with a combined capacity of 18.2 million kilowatts. Upon completion in 2009, the project will be able to generate 84.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. Its permanent locks will accommodate ships of more than 10,000 dead weight tons. Hydropower specialists predict the power generation capacity of the Three Gorges Project will remain unchallenged internationally for many years to come. The specialists reckon it would take 50 million tons of raw coal or 25 million tons of crude oil to produce the same amount of energy as the annual output of the Three Gorges Project. Thus the project will avoid the emission of 1 million to 2 million tons of sulphur dioxide, 300,000 to 400,000 tons of nitrogen oxide, 10,000 tons of carbon monoxide and 150,000 tons of soot into the air annually. The dam’s design is absolutely safe, and when it is completely finished in 2009, it will be able to control floods effectively, and the watercourse through the Gorges will be deeper and sager, allowing larger vessels to sail to and from Chongqing.

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