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Where will Beijing get its drinking water?

(August 2, 2007) An article by Science Times reporter Yi Yongyong based on a recent talk by Chinese environmentalist Wang Jian takes us through some of the water supply problems facing Beijing. Starting from the city’s pre-PRC history and moving through the half-century since, he brings us up to the present situation and speculates on the future. He focuses on two of the largest reservoirs that have until recently been among Beijing’s primary sources.

Flood closes down Yangtze Three Gorges ship lock

(July 30, 2007) The Yangtze River Three Gorges Navigational Bureau halted two-way traffic at the Three Gorges ship lock earlier this month as water influx into the dam measured an alarming 51,000 cubic meters per second, a result of continuous rainfall in the upper reaches. The lock, 6.4 km long and costing RMB ¥6.2 billion (USD $810 million), was built into the mountainous terrain on the northern bank of the Yangtze and has been the only navigable route past the dam since 2003.