2019 China – Chongqing to 3 Gorges Dam on the Yangtze

Posted by on June 1, 2019
Chongqing, a megacity in the middle of China.
Chongqing has a monorail system. This one has a stop INSIDE this apartment building.
Chinese secret: this scaffolding looks like bamboo. We've seen "bamboo" scaffolding all over China spanning 30+ stories in the air.
Our ship for our 3 day cruise down the Yangtze.
We walked the plank all the way from shore to ship, all the while, the mighty Yangtze swiftly flowed beneath our feet.
Everyone has a job.
Chongqing, the most populous municipality in China with over 30 million people.
Mega bridges span the Yangtze
Waking up on the misty Yangtze.
Ghostly mist and an eerie quietness marks the morning as we sail down the Yangtze towards the 3 gorges.
Huge construction projects pop up all along the river.
Gateway to the Shibaozhai pagoda. The bridge is a bouncy suspension bridge.
The drunken bridge spans a field below that is usually covered in 30 feet of water.
The Shibaozhai pagoda is a 9 story wooden structure built in the early 19th century.
The line showing where the water level would be after the 3 Gorges dam is built. This site is protected from the waters by a giant wall.
Top of the Shibaozhai Pagoda.
The Shibaozhai pagoda was saved from the rising gorge waters by a huge wall that was built around the entire site.
Cities light up the riverbanks at night.
Ingenious walkways that can move up and down the bluff as the waters rise and fall.
The entrance to the first of the three gorges: Wu Gorge.
Caves along the river that are now below the waterline held the famous hanging coffin burials.
The distinct waterline anchors the craggy peaks and towering cliffs all through the 3 Gorges area of the Yangtze.
Motoring up a Yangtze tributary defined by steep cliffs above.
Thousands of villages along the river were relocated hundreds of feet uphill. Millions of people were displaced by the rising waters from the dam.
Another bridge spanning the Yangtze.
Sunrise on the 3 Gorges Dam. The main resivoir is suprisingly small. BUT the waterlevel of the river in the gorge has risen over 360 ft spanning 410 miles.
The dam displaced millions of people, and destroyed countless villages, cities, and archaeological sites.
The ship elevator can raise smaller ships (up to 3,000 tons) to the top in about 40 minutes. The locks take 4 hours. The dam has created a major shipping pathway between the coast and China's MEGA production factories hundreds of miles inland.
The dam provides hydroelectric power and flood control of the mighty Yangtze.
The dam is 7,661 ft long and the top is 607ft above sea level. The dam created a resevoir that is 244 square miles.