Xiluodu and Xiangjiaba

China to Flood Nature Reserve with Latest Yangtze Dam

Thursday, March 29, 2012
China's Three Gorges Corp. on Thursday marked the beginning of construction for a dam that will flood the last free-flowing portion of the middle reaches of the Yangtze, the country's longest river. The 30 billion yuan ($4.75 billion) Xiaonanhai dam is decried by environmentalists because it will flood a nature reserve designed to protect about 40 species of river fish. Completion of the dam would turn the middle section of the Yangtze into a series of reservoirs, leaving "no space for fish", said environmentalist Ma Jun, who has been active for over two years in trying to prevent the dam. "Th

Joint Petition by Experts on Hydropower Impacts Over Fisheries

Monday, May 11, 2009
Experts signed a joint petition calling for attention to the impact of overdevelopment of hydropower on the fish Translated by Sinan Chu, International Rivers Originally published in China Economic Recently, several experts signed a joint petition calling for attention to the impact of overdevelopment of hydropower on the endemic and rare fish in the upper reach of Yangtze River, including Prof. Lu Zhi, a professor of conservation biology from Peking University; Dr. Xie Dan from the Center of China Species Information Service; Zheng Yisheng, a research associate from the Chinese Ac

River Blocked for China's New Gigantic Hydropower Project

Sunday, December 28, 2008
Originally published in Xinhua News SHUIFU, Yunnan, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Jinsha River in south China was blocked on Sunday to make way for construction of a new hydropower project on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. At a cost of 43.4 billion yuan (about 6.3 billion U.S. dollars), the Xiangjiaba Hydropower Project is expected to be completed by 2015. It will be able to generate 30.7 billion kw hours of electricity a year. "Electricity generated by hydropower stations will mainly be sold to China's eastern, southern and central regions," said Li Yong'an, ge

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

Xiluodu and Xiangjiaba Dam the Lower Jinsha River

Aerial image of Xiluodu after completion
The Xiluodu Dam, when completed, will be the second largest hydropower project in China after the Three Gorges Dam. As part of a cascade of dams, including the Xiangjiaba (which is currently under construction), Baihetan, and Wudongde, the Xiluodu seeks to alleviate much of the sedimentation that has been rapidly accumulating behind the Three Gorges. Together with Xiangjiaba, it will generate 12.6 Gigawatts of energy, roughly equal to the Three Gorges's maximum capacity expected in 2015. It will also displace an estimated 180,000 people, mostly from the city of Zhaotong.  All four

China Completes River Damming for 2nd Largest Hydropower Plant Project

Friday, November 9, 2007
Originally published in Xinhua News China successfully dammed the Jinsha River on Thursday, marking a key step in the construction of the Xiluodu hydropower plant. When completed, the dam will be the second largest of its type in the country after the massive Three Gorges Project. Wang Shukai, deputy director of the project under the China Three Gorges Project Corporation, said it took workers 30 hours to complete the damming at 15:38 p.m. at Xiluodu in the southwestern Sichuan Province. At that spot, the river is 47 meters wide and runs at a speed of seven meters per second. "T

China Banks on Hydropower to Cut Emissions, but at Huge Human Cost

Sunday, November 18, 2007
Originally published in the International Herald Tribune JIANMIN VILLAGE, China: Last year, Chinese officials celebrated the completion of the Three Gorges Dam by releasing a list of 10 world records. As in: The Three Gorges is the world's biggest dam, biggest power plant and biggest consumer of dirt, stone, concrete and steel. Ever. Even the project's official tally of 1.13 million displaced people made the list as record No. 10. Today, the Communist Party is hoping the dam does not become China's biggest folly. In recent weeks, Chinese officials have admitted that the dam was spawning enviro

Hidden Danger Behind Three Gorges Dam

Friday, May 30, 2003
Originally published in The Guardian As the huge reservoir behind China's controversial Three Gorges dam begins to fill up this weekend, an urgent rescue operation is being launched further upstream to save the dam from being choked by silt. The final go-ahead has been given for a new generation of four dams which are supposed to trap the silt on the Yangtze river's longest tributary, the Jinsha (Golden Sands) river. The scheme has been almost completely ignored so far in China and abroad. Alarmingly, it lies on the edge of a recognised seismic zone, a potential danger not mentioned in the few

China Plans a Dozen Hydro Stations on Jinsha River

Monday, November 27, 2006
Originally published in China Daily Construction began Sunday on a hydropower project in southwest China which will have a third of the capacity of the Three Gorges Project when completed in nine years. Power generation from the 6-gigawatt Xiangjiaba project, combined with the 12.6 gigawatt Xiluodu project on which construction started 11 months ago, would be the equivalent of the Three Gorges Project by 2015.  "The start of construction indicates the Xiangjiaba project, whose initial planning started as early as in 1957, has entered a new phase," said Fan Qixiang, vice-p

China: Other Projects

International Rivers has worked on several other projects in China, including Tiger Leaping Gorge Dam, Zipingpu Dam, Xiaoxi Dam, and Megoe Tso Lake. On the upper reaches of the Min River, a tributary of the Yangtze in Sichuan province, a vital irrigation system known as Dujiangyan and its surrounding areas will be negatively impacted by the Zipingpu Dam project.
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