2016-12-14 Wed

The Three Georges Dam is the world’s largest power station built on the Yangtze River and generates 22,500 MW of electricity. It is a 600 foot high, 1.4 mile long dam with 386 gates holding a reservoir 400 miles long. This power generating complex has 26 turbines. In 2014, the dam generated 98.8 TWh of electricity and created a new world record.

Originally envisioned by Sun Yat-Sen in 1919 and having passed through many governments the project finally began on 14Th December, 1994 after The National People’s Congress approved it in 1992. Expected to be fully functional by 2009, it got delayed until 4th July, 2012 due to additional projects. The ship lift was completed in 2015.

The project originally regarded as engineering, social and economic success turned out to be a topic of controversy across the globe due to its enormous advantages and disadvantages. 13 cities, 140 towns, 1600 villages and some archaeological sites got submerged under the reservoir. An official count of 1.3 million people was relocated.

It generates 11 times more power than the Hoover Dam. By shifting a significant mass of water, the dam will literally slow the rotation of the earth. Since partial completion in 2006, there have been regular reports of cracks, landslides, ecological deterioration and accumulation of algae. The 2010 flooding of Yangtze River was one of the worst floods ever despite the dam built so control the flooding.

Northern China has half of Chinese population and only 15% of freshwater as water got stopped by the dam. Additionally, now 70% of China’s freshwater is polluted. This South-To-North project is yet incomplete and will cost another 62$ billion to complete. The project will use dams, pumping stations, tunnels, and canals to draw 45 billion cubic meters of water upstream 1,000 miles each year. China will have to relocate another 3,50,000 citizens to make way for the water diversion project.

The project's western route draws water across five major fault lines, including the epicenter of the 2008 earthquake that killed over 70,000. The massive Gobi desert is expanding 1,400 square miles per year due to drought and over farming. Despite these problems, China still wants to build more such dams both inside and outside China.

The project has affected India too. Indians are worried as reports have shown that the project will significantly decrease the flow of the shared Brahmaputra (Yarlung Tsangpo) river and increase its salinity thus creating major water problems for Indian seven sister states.

The stamp is a part of “Yangtze River Views” stamp series released on 13th September 2014. It was issued by China Posat to mark the 65th anniversary of the founding of People’s Republic of China. This set shows a panoramic view of the Yangtze River overall images of 9 postage stamps. Its value is 5 Chinese Renminbi.