Tiger Leaping Gorge

[rogerluli]

In a supreme act of idiocy there were actually plans to dam Yunnan's famed Tiger Leaping Gorge. Thankfully someone upstairs with still functioning brain cells has nixed the idea...

 

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/1650/tigerleaoinggorgeml1.jpg

 

 

Heeding to rare public outcry, the Yunnan provincial government has decided to scrap a controversial plan to dam the famed Tiger Leaping Gorge and the local media have been told not to report the scrapping of the ambitious dam proposal.

 

 

Dharamsala, December 21: The Yunnan Provincial Government has decided to scrap the controversial plan to dam the famed Tiger Leaping Gorge, a canal on the Yangtze River, after strong local opposition and international concern.

 

Breaking a long silence over the fate of the project, the provincial government reached a decision on Sunday that no dam would be built at the gorge, one of the deepest river canyons in the world and close to a World Heritage site, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported Thursday.

 

Instead, authorities now plan to move the dam 200km upstream to a Tibetan-populated area bordering Weixi and Deqin counties in Diqing (Dechen in Tibetan).

 

The new location, which had yet to be chosen from three options available, is expected to displace some 20,000 people; SCMP reported sources as saying. And among those likely to be affected would be mostly Tibetans of the region.

 

Meanwhile, villagers who are now relieved by the scrapping of the controversial dam plan, which they had strongly opposed in a rare show of defiance against the powerful electricity developers and development-minded local authorities, have welcome the decision, SCMP reported.

 

Villagers' opposition has attracted widespread attention since 2004. They even sent a petition letter to Beijing last year protesting against the damming of the gorge.

 

More than 100,000 residents, mostly farmers from ethnic minorities in Shangri-la and Yulong counties, would have been evicted to make way for the Tiger Leaping Gorge dam project.

 

The proposed damming on the Jinsha River (as the river is locally called) at the Tiger Leaping Gorge has been shelved since 2004 following a rare public outcry. The 276-metre-high dam at the gorge that could generate 88.3 billion kWh of electricity a year was also aimed at diverting water from the Jinsha River to the centre of the province, including the provincial capital, Kunming.

 

According to the report, the prolonged debate over the proposed dam is said to have seriously disrupted the local economy and people's livelihoods. The proposed project is also related to the Three Gorges Dam and the South-North Water Transfer Project, both of which are causing, or will cause, massive environmental damage and the destruction of thousands of cultural heritage sites.

 

The SCMP report said the Central Government of China has deliberately maintained an ambiguous stance on the fate of the gorge although it was highly concerned about its "irreparable damage" to the local environment and the unique culture of the ethnic minorities.

 

¡°Muzzled in its reporting of the controversial project over the past two years, local media have been told not to report the scrapping of the dam proposal,¡± SCMP noted.

[dapigu]

I'm glad to hear this. I visited the gorge 2.5 years ago at the height of the rainy season. There were thousands of Chinese tourists (didn't see one other laowai) and the gorge was incredible. Thanks for posting this story.

[rogerluli]

I'm glad to hear this. I visited the gorge 2.5 years ago at the height of the rainy season. There were thousands of Chinese tourists (didn't see one other laowai) and the gorge was incredible. Thanks for posting this story.

 

We were there just over a year ago now in late autumn and even then the quantity of water blasting through the narrowest stretches is indeed INCREDIBLE...

[Guest knloregon]

Thanks for posting Roger, valuable post slightly out of the mainstream news media...

 

WSJ has done several recent articles on the sea change taking place at the highest levels of China's government regarding hydropower dams...

 

the change has been very rapid by Chinese standards, being finally resolved at the 17th. Party Congress in Oct. ---an example of Hu Jintao's strong leadership. This last congress ran smoother than in the past, indicating a greater level of national consensus, evn as this article points out, at the provincial level---usually a choke point in Chinese policy administration.

 

Hu is really coming into his own, which is probably why he was one of the top finalists for Time's Man of the Year..

[pkfops]

Thank you comrade Roger for talking to the Yunnan provincial government about this matter.

[Guest Mike and Lily]

I went there last year. It's a true wonder of nature. I am glad they will keep it.

[lostness]

Isn't kind of ironic that so much of ancient Chinese thought and philosophy was based on living in harmony with nature and now the higher echelons of government are all about conquering nature.

But I'm glad to see this area is spared, it looks amazingly beautiful.

[LeeFisher3]

I'm glad to hear this. I visited the gorge 2.5 years ago at the height of the rainy season. There were thousands of Chinese tourists (didn't see one other laowai) and the gorge was incredible. Thanks for posting this story.

 

We were there just over a year ago now in late autumn and even then the quantity of water blasting through the narrowest stretches is indeed INCREDIBLE...

You mean this isn't the answer to the California Zoo problem?

 

I think your title is just misleading and trying to gain more views on the thread, you're just shameless. B)

[rogerinca]

I'm glad to hear this. I visited the gorge 2.5 years ago at the height of the rainy season. There were thousands of Chinese tourists (didn't see one other laowai) and the gorge was incredible. Thanks for posting this story.

 

We were there just over a year ago now in late autumn and even then the quantity of water blasting through the narrowest stretches is indeed INCREDIBLE... B)

You mean this isn't the answer to the California Zoo problem?

 

I think your title is just misleading and trying to gain more views on the thread, you're just shameless.

 

 

Now, that is what I would call, really very FUNNY !!!!!!!

 

[jbray]

Thanks for posting. I am glad to hear this... I went there 4 years ago, at the hight of SARS. My brother and I were the only ones on the trail. We took the high trail (a 2 day hike). I'm not in the greatest of shape and was tired at the end of a 35 mile hike, but when I got to the end, I wanted to turn around and do it again. It's so beautiful. I strongly recommend the hike.

[rogerluli]

Thanks for posting. I am glad to hear this... I went there 4 years ago, at the hight of SARS. My brother and I were the only ones on the trail. We took the high trail (a 2 day hike). I'm not in the greatest of shape and was tired at the end of a 35 mile hike, but when I got to the end, I wanted to turn around and do it again. It's so beautiful. I strongly recommend the hike.

 

I've read accounts of making that trek and it does sound spectacular...

 

We totally wimped out and took the low road... B) and even worse we took a cart ride on the way back... It wasn't my idea really...