Yichang: The last remnants of a 1,700-year-old town were demolished with explosives on Sunday [24 March] to make way for China’s Three Gorges dam project. Ancient Guizhou Town, in Zigui County in central China’s Hubei Province, will be the first of 11 towns to be flooded according to the schedule. The removal of the population and key ancient buildings started in 1992 and was completed in 1998. It is so far the largest demolition work of the Three Gorges Project. According to the project schedule, the Three Gorges Reservoir will be rise to 135 metres, inundating Guizhou. The new town, with 72,000 residents, is 35 km away from the demolished town. A total of 18 buildings were demolished Sunday.