The Three Gorges Hydropower Station, also known as the Three Gorges Water Conservancy Project on the Yangtze River and the Three Gorges Project, is a large-scale hydropower station in Yichang City, Hubei Province, China, and the largest construction project in China's history. It integrates multiple functions such as flood control, power generation, shipping, and water resource utilization, and is one of the world's largest water conservancy projects.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, Dr. Sun Yat-sen put forward the idea of building water conservancy projects in the Three Gorges area of the Yangtze River in the "Strategy for the Founding of the People's Republic of China". After the founding of the People's Republic of China, ** began to implement this grand plan. After many on-the-spot inspections and repeated demonstrations, the Three Gorges Project has gradually moved from conception to implementation. After decades of efforts, under the premise of ensuring a balance between ecological and environmental protection and economic and social benefits, China officially started the construction of the Three Gorges Dam in the 90s of the 20th century, and began to store water for power generation in 2003.
The construction of the Three Gorges Dam is aimed at achieving multiple objectives. First, it can effectively improve the flood protection standards of the downstream Jingjiang River section, protecting tens of millions of people and millions of hectares of arable land from flooding. Second, the Yangtze River's abundant hydropower resources will be used to build large-scale hydropower stations to meet the demand for electricity for national economic development, while reducing coal consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, and contributing to the green transformation of the country's energy structure. The construction of the Three Gorges Dam has also improved the navigation conditions from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River to Chongqing, realized deep-water navigation, reduced logistics costs, and effectively promoted the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. In addition, the construction of the Three Gorges Dam will also have comprehensive benefits such as irrigation, water supply, tourism, and aquaculture.
The Three Gorges Dam project is large-scale, consisting of two parts: the main building project and the diversion project. The total investment of the project is as high as 954600 million yuan, of which the investment in the hub project is 500900 million yuan. During the construction process, China has properly resettled 1.13 million migrants and invested heavily in the construction of substation projects. The Three Gorges Dam is a concrete gravity dam with a total length of 3,035 meters, a crest elevation of 185 meters, and a normal water storage level of 175 meters. The total storage capacity of the dam is 39.3 billion cubic meters, of which the flood control storage capacity is 221500 million cubic meters, which can withstand a once-in-a-century catastrophic flood. The dam is also equipped with 26 generating units, generating more than 84.9 billion kWh of electricity per year. The shipping capacity has also been greatly improved, from the original 10 million tons to 50 million tons, the 10,000-ton fleet can go directly to Chongqing, and the transportation cost has been reduced by 35%.
The construction of the Three Gorges Dam is a feat in the history of hydropower projects in China and the world, and has had a profound impact on many fields such as economy, science and technology, society and environment. With the completion of the world's largest concrete dam, the comprehensive benefits of the Three Gorges Project have begun to be fully realized. It not only improves the flood control standards in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, but also provides a large amount of clean energy for the country, which strongly supports the country's economic development. At the same time, the construction of the Three Gorges Dam has also improved the navigation conditions of the Yangtze River and promoted the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. In addition, the construction of dams is also conducive to regulating the local climate, protecting the ecological environment and promoting regional ecological balance.
The construction of the Three Gorges Dam is a landmark project. It is not only a great breakthrough in the history of China's hydraulic engineering, but also a miracle in the history of human engineering. In the future, with the continuous advancement of technology and socio-economic development, the Three Gorges Dam will continue to play an important role in creating more well-being and value for mankind.