Ships
in the dam lock |
The
excitement (if you can call it that) began early on our second day.
We awoke early in the morning to watch as we passed through the ship
locks at (I believe) Ge Zhou Dam. Our ship was one of the first to
pull into the lock and we watched as others piled in after us. By
the time they were finished the lock was full of ships and barges
of various sizes. |
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| Anne
found the fantail of the one ship (right) interesting and asked that
I take a picture. It was decorated with an artificial tree and several
potted plants. This was common on many of the ships and barges we
passed. |
Home
away from home |
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Anne
looking back at the lock |
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| The
excitement level was really beginning to peak now as we approached
San Dou Ping, the site of the Three Gorges Dam project. Unfortunately,
as you can see by the photos, the weather had not improved much. In
fact, it probably deteriorated somewhat as there was a light drizzle,
but that didn't dampen our spirits. We'd heard so much about the Three
Gorges Dam Project and were anxious to see it for ourselves. The time
had arrived. |
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Passing
through the Ge Zhou Dam the scenery immediately began to change.
Where there was
flat terrain there were now hills. I'm not sure how much before
Ge Zhou Dam the scenery changed
because we were sleeping, but this was much preferred. As you can
see, the hilltops were obscured
by the fog and mist caused by the weather, adding a mood to the
pictures.
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Before
I show you the pictures from the dam site let's look at some of
the general information about the dam:
- Location:
San Dou Ping, Yichang, Hubei Province
- Concrete
gravity dam, length 2,309 meters and crest elevation 185 meters
- Cost:
Approximately 25 billion US$
- Reservoir
capacity: 39.3 billion meters
- Officially
started in 1994; 17 years for construction
- Concrete
placing 27.94 million meters
- Two
ship locks and one ship elevator
- Initial
flooding, to 135 meters,to begin in 2003
- Final
construction finished by 2009 and flooding to the 175 meter level
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Tour
buses waiting at the dock
and the "dollar people" waiting
for us leave the ship |
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Massive
cranes along the poured concrete dam
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John,
Carol and Alicia at the dam site |
The
tour group at the lookout
peering at the dam site |
Anne
in awe at the
sheer size of the dam |
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Looking
out at the area to be flooded |
Worker
carrying a heavy
load up steep steps |
Immediately
to the right of the lookout area (picture left) there was a set of
steep stairs leading to a dirt path down to the work area below. It
was amazing the number of people using the path, many carrying heavy
and large objects on their heads (left). We even saw a young woman
dressed in high heels trying to negotiate the muddy path down to the
housing area that was below for the workers. |
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Three
Gorges Dam Model
Anne
and I in front of the model building
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Boarding
the bus and leaving the lookout area we headed to the top of an adjacent
hill to visit the Three Gorges Dam Project Model Room. Inside the
building was a large model of the dam project (left). There was also
the traditional tourist gift shop offering a conglomeration of anything
Chinese plus books and postcards on the dam project. |
Anne
visiting the local post office. She
doesn't
know how to stay away from work.
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our visit to the Three Gorges Dam site and the model exhibition behind
us we boarded the bus and began our journey back to the ship. |
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The
Princess Elaine waiting for our return |
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Returning
to the Princess Elaine we were met by the "dollar people"
with their
items to sell. One thing about China ... everything was cheap.
Bags of oranges could be bought for a $1!
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Now,
let's continue to the next page and begin our journey through the
first of the Three Gorges, the Xiling Gorge ... |
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