Editing A History Of China apos;s Three Gorges Project

<br>SHANGHAI, Nov 14 (Reuters) - China's giant Three Gorges project, the world's biggest hydropower plant in the middle reaches of the Yangtze river, continues to confound policymakers tackling its massive social and environmental impact.<br> <br>Here is a history of the project.<br> <br>1918: President Sun Yat-sen publishes The Fundamentals of National Reconstruction and proposes the construction of a dam at the Three Gorges.<br> <br>1944: U.S.<br><br>hydropower expert John Savage, invited by President Chiang Kai-shek to assess the Three Gorges, proposes a facility with a 200-meter-deep reservoir and a generating capacity of 10.65 gigawatts.<br> <br>June 1946: The first of the dams proposed by Savage begins construction, but it is halted on Aug.<br><br>3 the following year because of the Chinese civil war.<br> <br>February 1953: On a trip to the Yangtze, Mao Zedong complains that flood-control projects on the river's tributaries have failed and China should dam the Three Gorges.<br> <br>June-September 1954: A third of Wuhan is submerged during devastating flooding that affects 18.8 million people.<br>Li Peng, the politician who did the most to ensure the Three Gorges Project was eventually built,  [https://www.kynghidongduong.vn/tours/tour-trung-quoc-nam-ninh-cong-vien-khung-long-thanh-tu-son-3-ngay.html tour du lịch nam ninh] describes the flood as "a living lesson."<br> <br>January 1958: A meeting of the central committee in Nanning hears a new report on building the Three Gorges Dam, saying that work should first begin on the tributaries because a project on the main river would be too big and expensive.<br> <br>1979: Ministry of Water Resources submits a proposal to build the Three Gorges Dam to the cabinet, the State Council.<br> <br>1982: Leader Deng Xiaoping pledges to proceed with the dam.<br> <br>June 1986: China's Hydropower Ministry sets up a team of 412 experts to compile new feasibility studies.<br> <br>1987: A delegation from China's advisory second chamber, the China People's Political Consultative Conference, visits the Three Gorges region and warns the project is not feasible.<br> <br>August 1990: China's cabinet invites 163 experts to join a [http://blogs.realtown.com/search/?q=special%20committee special committee] to further assess the project's feasibility.<br> <br>April 1992: China's parliament, the National People's Congress, formally approves the project, but a third of delegates vote against the plan or abstain.<br> <br>December 1994: China holds a ground-breaking ceremony to launch construction, with Premier Li Peng making the keynote speech.<br> <br>November 1997: The Yangtze is blocked and diverted to make way for workers to start building the dam.<br> <br>May 2006: The construction of the 185-meter dam is completed.<br> <br>January 2007: China's National Audit Office reveals widespread misuse of funds at the project between 2004-2005.<br> <br>September 2007: A meeting is held in Wuhan to discuss the challenges facing the Three Gorges project, acknowledging "hidden dangers" such as the fragile ecosystem of the reservoir region,  [https://www.kynghidongduong.vn/tours/tour-trung-quoc-nam-ninh-cong-vien-khung-long-thanh-tu-son-3-ngay.html tour nam ninh] the proliferation of [https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&q=natural&btnI=lucky natural] disasters, and the risk of mud and landslides.<br> <br>July 2011: China's State Council publishes a "Three Gorges Follow-Up Work Plan" promising to spend 1.24 trillion yuan on fixing the social and environmental problems caused by the giant dam.<br> <br>May 2012: All 26 of the turbines are put into operation, marking the formal completion of the Three Gorges hydropower project and bringing total generation capacity to 22.5 gigawatts.<br> <br>April 2018: Xi Jinping visits the dam.<br><br>He reiterates his pledge to put an end to large-scale development on the Yangtze.<br> <br>July 2019: Li Peng, the Communist Party politician responsible for the Three Gorges Dam, dies at age 90. (Editing by Gerry Doyle)<br>