Ahai Dam

Jinsha River Dams

Baoshan Village, Jinsha (upper Yangtze) River, China
Jinsha River (Upper Yangtze River) Hydropower Projects List Location: Southwest China (Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces) Last update: 15 November 2012 dams/proposed dams listed from downstream to upstream Baoshan Village, Jinsha (upper Yangtze) River, China Li Hong 1. Xiangjiaba Dam Location: Sichuan/Yunnan (elevation 380 meters)Size: 6.4 GW; dam height 161 metersStatus: CompletedFinanciers: Yangtze Power, China Development Bank (CDB), China Construction BankBuilder: Three Gorges Project Corporation (CTGPC)Environmental Impact: Downstream, the combination of dams, pollution, overfishing and rive

Yangtze River

Great Bend, Jinsha River, China
The Jinsha River (or "River of Golden Sands") is the name of the 2,300-kilometer section of the Yangtze River from Yushu in Qinghai Province to Yibin in Sichuan. Here the river carves a string of grand canyons, home to diverse ethnic minority groups and some of China's most important biodiversity hotspots. The Jinsha River is also at the heart of one of the largest hydropower development areas in the world. Planned hydropower output in this area is equal to about ten times the power produced by the Three Gorges Dam alone.

Last Descent of the Great Bend of the Yangtze - Part III

Raft Approaching the Ahai Dam Site
(This is part 3 in a 3 part series. Read part I: Take Me to the River) Dust in the Wind: Ahai Dam Barrels Ahead Raft Approaching the Ahai Dam Site If the 160-meter-high Ahai Dam is completed, its designers will be able to proudly say that their concrete work erased a thousand years of lovingly crafted Great Bend terraces in just a few years of reservoir filling. The legacy they are focusing on is surely a more positive one: increased distribution of eletricity to a power-hungry China, and increased efficiency for the Three Gorges Dam. According to the engineers, the main purpose of t

Last Descent of the Great Bend of the Yangtze - Part II

Just Another Day on the Jinsha
(This is part 2 in a 3 part series. Read part I: Take Me to the River) Meeting the Golden Sands Just Another Day on the Jinsha I awoke at 7am to the sound of tent poles being dismantled - a luxury after the previous day's pre-dawn start. If we were going to do the full 120 miles we needed to be ready to go by 10am. On a weekend backpacking trip that would be a piece of cake - but for 28 people to pack tents, cook and eat breakfast, and load the aforementioned two tons of gear back onto the boats in two groggy hours, it would be quite a challenge. The second day was similar to

Last Descent of the Great Bend of the Yangtze - Part I

Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge In my short tenure at International Rivers, I've come to expect dams in every corner of every country around the globe. Still, I was shocked by the ubiquitous nature of these concrete beasts as we flew above China. On the three-hour flight south from Beijing to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, I counted over 70 dams. Unidentified Dam This was excellent preparation for our possible last descent of the Great Bend of the Yangtze River. If these small, insignificant streams were subject to that much engineering, certainly China's signature river,
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