Culture: The Three Gorges project was first envisioned by Sun Yat-zen in 1919 (MacLeod). Chairman Mao wrote a poem encouraging the project in 1956. Officials in China have debated the project almost openly since that time, which is a singular occurrence in the annals of Chinese government – members of the generally complacent National People’s Congress actually voted against the 1989 bill authorizing its construction (MacLeod). Some within the Chinese bureaucracy and without believe that it is a project designed to serve the national ego and perhaps as a tribute to the engineer that developed some of the first plans for the dam in the 1950s, rather than a project to help further the development of the country.

This dam in the Yangtze will submerge 13 cities, 140 towns, 1,352 villages, 657 factories, and approximately 75,000 acres of farmland along the watershed. Estimates on the number of displaced people were as small as 300,000 in 1986 (Eckholm) and now range between 1.2 million and 2 million people. The make up of the people to be moved is divided roughly in half between city dwellers and farmers. For the people living in the cities, the transition should not be so drastic. In fact some people are leaving behind deplorable living conditions in exchange for a more modern lifestyle.

Li Chenling is a former farmer who has been relocated to a new modern high-rise apartment. Her past home was a mud house without glass windows, indoor plumbing, heat, or electricity. The new apartment has running water, electricity, and gas for cooking and heat. She also enjoys the luxury of an indoor toilet. Li and her husband and daughter are able to enjoy this lifestyle for the equivalent of $1.80 a month including the rent and all the utilities.

Westerners believe that sixteen major archaeological sites and about 8,000 smaller ones, some dating as far back as the Bronze Age, will be submerged when the dam is completed (Ash). The Chinese government has declared 1,087 sites to be protected. Out of the 1,087 there are 374 above ground and 723 that need to be excavated. As of September 10, 2002, they had completed 23 percent of the job. The projects are under funded and it looks right now that they will only be able to complete a portion of their work. According to Sina.com, one of China’s most popular web sites, the archeologists are trying to do 50 years of work in only a matter of months. Some of the artifacts go back to the Stone Age and provide important information about the early cultures of China. Some of the objects found have been chopping tools that were not considered to this point to have been used in the southern part of China. In Badong County they have exposed the layout of a town that dates back to the Song dynasty (960 – 1279 AD). Unfortunately, due to the limited funds available to protect the sites, there has been a great opportunity for thieves to come in and raid the sites and make a profit on the artifacts.

Some of the most beautiful scenery in China will be submerged or greatly altered by the project; the three gorges for which the project is named will be covered by more than 500 feet of water. Western tour operators are at once planning “last minute” tours of the area while gearing up to take people to the site of the dam itself.

The World Bank and the American Export-Import Bank, known for funding large, heavily protested construction projects in other countries, both refused to participate in the Three Gorges Dam because of environmental and human rights concerns (Schmidt, Ash). Large global construction companies were also hesitant to participate.