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Three Gorges Dam, Dam On The Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) Just West of The City of Yichang in Hubei

The Three Gorges Dam in China became the largest hydroelectric dam in the world in 2012 with the capacity to generate 22,500 megawatts of electricity. At 2,335 meters long and 185 meters high, the dam created a massive reservoir allowing ships to travel inland over 2,250 km. Intended to control flooding along the Yangtze River, the project was first proposed in the 1920s but faced criticism and delays until approval in 1992 over its impacts on residents and the environment.

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95 views

Three Gorges Dam, Dam On The Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) Just West of The City of Yichang in Hubei

The Three Gorges Dam in China became the largest hydroelectric dam in the world in 2012 with the capacity to generate 22,500 megawatts of electricity. At 2,335 meters long and 185 meters high, the dam created a massive reservoir allowing ships to travel inland over 2,250 km. Intended to control flooding along the Yangtze River, the project was first proposed in the 1920s but faced criticism and delays until approval in 1992 over its impacts on residents and the environment.

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Three Gorges Dam, dam on the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) just west of the city of Yichang in Hubei

province, China. A straight-crested concrete gravity structure, the Three Gorges Dam is 2,335 metres
long with a maximum height of 185 metres . It incorporates 28 million cubic metres of concrete and
463,000 metric tons of steel into its design. When construction of the dam officially began in 1994, it
was the largest engineering project in China. At the time of its completion in 2006, it was the largest
dam structure in the world. Submerging large areas of the Qutang, Wu, and Xiling gorges for some 600
km upstream, the dam has created an immense deepwater reservoir allowing oceangoing freighters to
navigate 2,250 km inland from Shanghai on the East China Sea to the inland city of Chongqing.
Limited hydroelectric power production began in 2003 and gradually increased as
additional turbine generators came online over the years until 2012, when all of the dam’s 32 turbine
generator units were operating. Those units, along with 2 additional generators, gave the dam the
capacity to generate 22,500 megawatts of electricity, making it the most productive hydroelectric dam
in the world. The dam also was intended to protect millions of people from the periodic flooding that
plagues the Yangtze basin, although just how effective it has been in this regard has been debated. First
discussed in the 1920s by Chinese Nationalist Party leaders, the idea for the Three Gorges Dam was
given new impetus in 1953 when Chinese leader Mao Zedong ordered feasibility studies of a number of
sites. Detailed planning for the project began in 1955. Its proponents insisted it would control
disastrous flooding along the Yangtze, facilitate inland trade, and provide much-needed power for
central China, but the dam was not without its detractors. Criticisms of the Three Gorges project began
as soon as the plans were proposed and continued through its construction. Key problems included the
danger of dam collapse, the displacement of some 1.3 million people (critics insisted the figure was
actually 1.9 million) living in more than 1,500 cities, towns, and villages along the river, and the
destruction of magnificent scenery and countless rare architectural and archaeological sites. There were
also fears—some of which were borne out—that human and industrial waste from cities
would pollute the reservoir and even that the huge amount of water impounded in the reservoir could
trigger earthquakes and landslides. Some Chinese and foreign engineers argued that a number of
smaller and far-cheaper and less-problematic dams on the Yangtze tributaries could generate as much
power as the Three Gorges Dam and control flooding equally well. Construction of those dams, they
maintained, would enable the government to meet its main priorities without the risks. Because of
these problems, work on the Three Gorges Dam was delayed for nearly 40 years as the Chinese
government struggled to reach a decision to carry through with plans for the project. In 1992 Premier Li
Peng, who had himself trained as an engineer, was finally able to persuade the National People’s
Congress to ratify the decision to build the dam, though almost a third of its members abstained or
voted against the project—an unprecedented sign of resistance from a normally acquiescent body.
President Jiang Zemin did not accompany Li to the official inauguration of the dam in 1994, and
the World Bank refused to advance China funds to help with the project, citing major environmental and
other concerns.Nevertheless, the Three Gorges project moved ahead. In 1993 work started on access
roads and electricity to the site. Workers blocked and diverted the river in 1997, bringing to a close the
first phase of construction. In 2003 the reservoir began to fill, the ship locks—which allowed vessels of
up to 10,000 tons to navigate past the dam—were put into preliminary operation, and the first of the
dam’s generators was connected to the grid, completing the second phase of construction. (Following
completion of this second phase, some 1,200 sites of historical and archaeological importance that once
lined the middle reaches of the Yangtze River vanished as floodwaters rose.) Construction of the main
wall of the dam was completed in 2006. The remainder of the dam’s generators were operational by
mid-2012, and a ship lift, which allowed vessels of up to 3,000 tons to by pass the ship locks and more
quickly navigate past the dam, began operating in late 2015.
Vocabulary
Key terms:

dam – n. a barrier constructed to hold back water and raise its level, forming a reservoir used to
generate electricity or as a water supply (baraj)

reservoir- n. a large natural or artificial lake used as a source of water supply (rezervor)

hydroelectric  - adj. relating to or denoting the generation of electricity using flowing water
(typically from a reservoir held behind a dam or barrage) to drive a turbine which powers a
generator. (hidroelectric)

turbine- n. a machine for producing continuous power in which a wheel or rotor, typically fitted
with vanes, is made to revolve by a fast-moving flow of water, steam, gas, air, or other fluid.
(turbina)

generator- n. a dynamo or similar machine for converting mechanical energy into electricity.
(generator)

 flooding- n. the covering or submerging of normally dry land with a large amount of water.
(inundaţii)

Specialized Verbs:

To allow oceangoing freighters to navigate – a permite navigarea navelor de marfă oceanice

making it the most productive- făcându-l cel mai productiv

to provide much-needed power- a furniza puterea atât de necesară

Submerging large areas- Scufundând zone mari

gave the dam the capacity to generate- a dat barajului capacitatea de a genera

Summary:

Back in 2012, the Three Gorges Dam in Hubei, China, became the largest hydroelectric dam in the world
in terms of electricity production. The enormous facility can generate as much as 22,500 megawatts. It is
2,335 metres long with a maximum height of 185 metres. The dam has created an immense deepwater
reservoir allowing oceangoing freighters to navigate 2,250 km inland from Shanghai on the East China
Sea to the inland city of Chongqing. The dam also was intended to protect millions of people from the
periodic flooding. For the first time this project was discussed in the 1920s by the leaders of the Chinese
Nationalist Party, but then it was criticized as having negative effects on the population and nature .For
these reasons the project was postponed for a long time, and in 1992 it was approved. In late 2015 was
constructed a ship lift which allow more quickly navigate past the dam

Afanasiuc Mariana

Gr.ARH-181

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