(1) Museum to store cultural relics from Three Gorges area
(2) Three Gorges reservoir will flood ancient hydrology records
(3) Plans for dredging Yangtze River announced
(4) ‘Living fossil’ plants moved out of Three Gorges region
(5) Citizens call for halt to dam-building in Asia
(6) Ministry of Water Resources approves Yellow River hydro scheme(1) Museum to store cultural relics from Three Gorges area
Nov. 30, 2000 – The Guangzhou-based Yangcheng Evening News reports that thousands of rare cultural relics unearthed by Chinese archaeologists in the Three Gorges reservoir area will be preserved in a new museum. Recently approved by China’s State Council, the museum will exhibit the relics, ranging from stone tablets to temple remnants and fossils, and use them for scientific research and international cultural exchanges.

(2) Three Gorges reservoir will flood ancient hydrology records
Nov. 30, 2000 – Central China Television network reports that half the ancient hydrological records carved into stone canyons along the Yangtze River will be flooded by the Three Gorges reservoir. Widely regarded as a “miracle” in the world’s hydrological history, the White Crane ridge near Fuling City, with its record of Yangtze water levels dating back to the Tang Dynasty 1,200 years ago, will be partially submerged, Chinese archaeologists report.

(3) Plans for dredging Yangtze River announced
Nov. 27, 2000 – The Chinese government has announced a US$25- million program to dredge the Yangtze River, reports Central China Television network. According to the Nanjing Channel Bureau, the Yangtze has suffered a major buildup of silt in the river’s lower reaches (downstream of the Three Gorges dam) due to large floods in recent years. The largest program of its kind, the plan calls for dredging 13 shoals that have formed in the river.

(4) ‘Living fossil’ plants moved out of Three Gorges region
Nov. 28, 2000 – Dozens of rare and endangered plants have been moved out of the Three Gorges dam reservoir to Hubei province, according to the Beijing-based Huasheng Daily. Some 49 plant species officially listed as rare or endangered that would otherwise be flooded have been replanted in Hubei province’s Wuhan Plant Garden, Jiugongshan Natural Preservation Zone, and Dalaoling National Forest Park. Called “living fossils,” the plants include the dove tree, a rare tree with dove-like flowers that can take 15 years to seed, and dawn redwood, prized as the only deciduous redwood to survive extinction, which, like other plants in the Three Gorges area, once flourished millions of years ago.

(5) Citizens call for halt to dam-building in Asia
Nov. 24, 2000 – An Asian network of more than 70 citizens’ groups and academics have called for a halt to dam building in the region until recommendations by the World Commission on Dams are implemented. Their call follows last month’s release of a major report by the World Commission on Dams which found that large dams have disrupted half the world’s river ecosystems, displaced more than 40 million people, and left nations burdened with debt. The commission also reports that large dams often fail to deliver electricity, irrigation, and flood control as planned. Among its recommendations, the commission advises that no new dam projects should proceed without public acceptance, and that governments “address the unresolved legacy of past dams.”

(6) Ministry of Water Resources approves Yellow River hydro scheme
Nov. 20, 2000 – China’s Ministry of Water Resources has approved plans to build a $300-million dam on the Yellow River, downstream of the existing Xiaolangdi dam, Yangcheng Evening News reports. The reservoir created by the 140-MW Qixiayuan dam is expected to assist Xiaolangdi’s performance by regulating its discharge and reducing scouring of the riverbed caused by Xiaolangdi’s rapid releases.

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Three Gorges Probe welcomes submissions. However, it is not a forum for political debate. Rather, Three Gorges Probe is dedicated to covering the scientific, technical, economic, social, and environmental ramifications of completing the Three Gorges Project, as well as the alternatives to the dam.

Publisher: Patricia Adams
Executive Editor: Mu Lan
Assistant Editor: Lisa Peryman
ISSN 1481-0913