Monday, May 22, 2006

China Completes World's Largest Dam

China completed construction of the world's largest dam on Saturday in Three Gorges area, central China's Hubei Province, signifying a milestone accomplishment of major structure of the mammoth Three Gorges water control project that aims to tame the flood-prone Yangtze River, the nation's longest.

At 2:00 on Saturday afternoon, as the final concrete was poured for main wall of the Three Gorges Dam, hurrah broke out and six workers were tossing over head by their fellows on the worksite before a brief celebration ceremony was held.

The 1.4-mile-long dam was designed to stop deadly floods that regularly ravage China's farming heartland, and eventually produce 22.4 million kilowatts of electricity - enough to light up Shanghai on a peak day with power to spare.

The Three Gorges, which consist of Qutang, Wuxia and Xiling Gorges, extend for about 200 km on the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze. They have become a popular world-class tourist destination noted for beautiful natural landscapes and a great number of historical and cultural relics. This section of the Yangtze has a narrow river course which is inconvenient for shipping but boasts abundant hydroelectric resources.

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