The Yangtze and the
Three Gorges
The three Yangtze gorges are among China's greatest attractions. It
presents awesome landscapes, surreal shaped mountaintop, furious rapids
and numerous historical sites. The hydroelectric project undertaken here
stretches across the Yangtze River. The dam is located in Sandouping
town in the Chinese province of Hubei and happens to be the largest
electricity-generating plant of the world. The dam is aimed at
generating electricity while increasing the shipping capacity of the
river and making up for flood storage capacity to lessen the chances of
flood. It is regarded as a historic engineering project with an economic
and social impact. Its state of the art design with large turbines
facilitates restriction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Yangtze and the
three gorges
The three famous gorges are located on the Yangtze River that happens
to be the third longest river of the world. Originating from mountains
of western China the river flows eastward down the plains, finally
meeting the East China Sea. It has its source in the Tibetan Plateau.
The Yangtze has been the prime route of transportation in China for
years. The river passes through the gorges beyond Chongqing city. The
three gorges namely, the Wu Gorge, the Qutang Gorge and Xiling Gorge
find mention in various Chinese poetry and art. They stretch from the
White King Town in Fengjie County to Nanjinguan Pass in Yichang. Formed
from limestone the gorges have steep sides from which rocky pinnacles
shoot out.
The Qutang Gorge - The Qutang Gorge is the first in line among the three
gorges. It is also the narrowest and the most dangerous pass of the
world with a length of 5 miles, narrow passage and rough waters. It runs
eastward stretching from the White King Town to Daxi. The entrance to
the Qutang Gorge has steep cliffs on each side resembling the shape of
towering closing doors. Sharp and steep cliffs can be found by the side
of the river in this location. While Red Armor Cliffs of Mt. Chijia lie
to the north of the gorge, it is surrounded by the White Salt Cliffs of
Mt. Biyan in the south. The cliffs present an awesome scenic beauty with
the mischievous play of sunlight. The gorge is also the site for various
historical and calligraphic artworks in stone belonging to various
dynasties.
The Wu Gorge - Also referred to as the gorge of witches the Wu Gorge
presents the most enchanting sight among the gorges. Named after Mt.
Wushan, the Wu Gorge with steep cliffs and twelve high peaks of varying
shapes resembling dragons and phoenixes with spread wings on its sides
is a treat to the eyes. Mist and sunlight play an amazing part in
magnifying its beauty. The Wu Gorge is 28 miles long and stretches from
the mouth of Daning River to the Guandukou city. With bending twists and
turns of the river and cloudy mountains covered with pine trees, the
gorge shares a location with some of the famous cities of Badong, Wushan
and Zigui.
The Xiling Gorge - The 48 miles long Xiling Gorge is last in line among
the three gorges and arises from the Xiangxi River in the west to Nanjin
Pass in the east. It had been previously refereed to as the “ship
graveyard” due to the presence of rock landslides and hidden shoals.
There are few other gorges as well by the Xiling Gorge. These are the
Bull's Liver gorge, Tactics Books, the Shadow Play Gorge, Sword Gorge,
Horse's Lung Gorge and the Ox Gorge. Some have caves and waterfalls
hidden in between.
The three Yangtze gorges occupy a celebrated status as they have often
been featured in various films, novels, poems and other award winning
works. The gorges also have a historical, cultural and aesthetic appeal
of their own. Thus, they justly claim to be among the greatest wonders
of China.
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