2011-12 Gezhouba Dam & Three Gorges Dam, Yangtze River, China
Hello All,
At Yichang we had to lock through Gezhouba Dam before proceeding another 27 miles up the Yangtze River to the Three Gorges Dam. It was late evening as we waited in the queue for our turn to enter the lock. There were several junks anchored near the bank of the river.
At Yichang we had to lock through Gezhouba Dam before proceeding another 27 miles up the Yangtze River to the Three Gorges Dam. It was late evening as we waited in the queue for our turn to enter the lock. There were several junks anchored near the bank of the river.
Other ships were milling around below the dam waiting
their turn to enter the lock. We figured that due to
the size of our ship we would probably be locking through alone. We didn’t think even one of the smaller ships could fit into the lock with us.
the size of our ship we would probably be locking through alone. We didn’t think even one of the smaller ships could fit into the lock with us.
There were two smaller ships ahead of us in line
and when the lock doors opened they entered the lock. It appeared that we would
be waiting for these ships to be locked through before it was our turn—another
delay!
Then to our surprise another ship waiting in the
queue pulled up along our starboard side and started tying up to us. From our
stateroom balcony we had a good view. This ship was well used to say the least.
Checkout the dingy—it showed signs of a long rough
life. The outboard is typical of what we saw used throughout China.
After a while, and for no obvious reason, the ship
untied and separated from our ship. Then our ship
started to slowly move into the lock—we were surprised that we fit with the two other ships in front of us. It looked like it was going to be a tight squeeze!!
started to slowly move into the lock—we were surprised that we fit with the two other ships in front of us. It looked like it was going to be a tight squeeze!!
Once in the lock, the ship that was tied up with us
started moving into the lock. Wow, were we impressed! We later learned that
none of these ships have bow thrusters. The steering and movement is all done
with the use of their two drive engines. Even more surprising was that the
Viking Emerald didn’t have thrusters either.
Heck, they weren’t done yet. Would you believe, two more ships followed us into the lock! One had a conveyer boom on it that stuck out at least 100 feet. So much for our assumption of locking alone--this was one big lock!
Finally the lock doors swung shut and water started
into the lock. By this time nightfall was almost upon us. As the ships were
lifted we could see the lights of Yichang start appearing above the massive
doors of the lock.
Originally we were scheduled to tie up below the
Three Gorges Dam and then take a tour of the dam. After the tour we would then
lock through. But, since we were behind schedule due to our earlier “fender bender”
the captain chose to go ahead and lock through upon arrival late during the
night. Passing through the five-stage locking system of the dam takes nearly
four hours to complete. As an interesting note, there were no water pumps used
in the locking system—everything is gravity flow. Since we have locked through
many dams we chose to go to bed rather than stay up through the night to watch
the process. A lock is a lock is a lock…
When we awoke the next morning our ship was tied up at a dock above the dam. After breakfast we got onto tour buses for our tour of the dam. There were cable cars that took us from the ship up the bank to where the buses were waiting. It saved us from having to climb the many stairs.
We noticed immediately that the air looked very smoggy. We later learned that is was caused by a sandstorm from Tibet and they are quite common during the spring months.
The Three Gorges Dam is the most ambitious engineering project of its kind. At 1.3 miles wide and 610 feet tall, the colossal dam is the largest construction project for China since the Great Wall. Never before has a dam of such magnitude been attempted in the world. China decided to dam the Yangtze River in 1994 with a wall of steel and concrete that took 15 years and over 30 billion dollars to build. The dam contains twice the amount of concrete as the Itaipu Dam in Brazil. It creates a five trillion gallon reservoir hundreds of feet deep and about 385 miles long. The dam was built to withstand an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter Scale. As the world’s largest hydroelectric power plant, the dam’s turbines create the equivalent electricity of 18 nuclear power plants.
Building of the dam and the subsequent reservoir displaced 1.5 million people and submerged numerous archeological sites and nearly 2,000 cities, towns and villages. However, it is important to remember that more than a million people have died due to flooding of the Yangtze River in the last 100 years. The dam holds promise of controlling this centuries old devastation. It will also reduce the need for coal fired electric generators. We were told that China has plans for 20 more dams to be constructed over the next 20 years—a very ambitious undertaking.
Here is a shot of the five stage locking system at the Three Gorges Dam. The five locks on the right are for traffic locking up and the five on the left are for locking down. We apologize for the photo as it was taken through the bus window as we were crossing the newly constructed bridge below the dam. It was the best we could do considering the circumstances.
When we awoke the next morning our ship was tied up at a dock above the dam. After breakfast we got onto tour buses for our tour of the dam. There were cable cars that took us from the ship up the bank to where the buses were waiting. It saved us from having to climb the many stairs.
We noticed immediately that the air looked very smoggy. We later learned that is was caused by a sandstorm from Tibet and they are quite common during the spring months.
The Three Gorges Dam is the most ambitious engineering project of its kind. At 1.3 miles wide and 610 feet tall, the colossal dam is the largest construction project for China since the Great Wall. Never before has a dam of such magnitude been attempted in the world. China decided to dam the Yangtze River in 1994 with a wall of steel and concrete that took 15 years and over 30 billion dollars to build. The dam contains twice the amount of concrete as the Itaipu Dam in Brazil. It creates a five trillion gallon reservoir hundreds of feet deep and about 385 miles long. The dam was built to withstand an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter Scale. As the world’s largest hydroelectric power plant, the dam’s turbines create the equivalent electricity of 18 nuclear power plants.
Building of the dam and the subsequent reservoir displaced 1.5 million people and submerged numerous archeological sites and nearly 2,000 cities, towns and villages. However, it is important to remember that more than a million people have died due to flooding of the Yangtze River in the last 100 years. The dam holds promise of controlling this centuries old devastation. It will also reduce the need for coal fired electric generators. We were told that China has plans for 20 more dams to be constructed over the next 20 years—a very ambitious undertaking.
Here is a shot of the five stage locking system at the Three Gorges Dam. The five locks on the right are for traffic locking up and the five on the left are for locking down. We apologize for the photo as it was taken through the bus window as we were crossing the newly constructed bridge below the dam. It was the best we could do considering the circumstances.
Here is a shot of the dam again
through the bus window.
Here is a shot of a set of locks from a viewpoint
above them. There is no way of capturing all five locks in a photo unless you
were in a helicopter above them. But at least you can get an idea of the size
of them. Note - that is solid rock that was cut to build the locks in.
Here is a shot of one lock with ships moving into
another lock where they will be lifted into the lock behind the doors in the
distance.
The following photo is of the dam and the lake
backed up behind it. The other side of it almost fades out of sight!
You will never guess what these two construction
cranes are for. They are being used to build an elevator. Now you might ask “Why
do they need an elevator on the side of the dam.” Well, this is no ordinary
elevator. This one is for lifting small ships and boats up and over the dam--again,
Chinese ingenuity at its best.
The ride back to the ship took us by some of the
newly constructed villages for the folks displaced as a result of the building
of the dam. They appeared to be quite nice. Upon returning to the ship we again
hopped on the cable car that took us down to the gangway.
We found our visit to this manmade marvel
interesting. Now we were looking forward to our cruise through the Three
Gorges, but more on that later.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns