Goodmorning,ladiesandGentlemen,WelcometoChina!WelcometoHubeiProvince!
TodayIamverypleasedtoshowyouThreeGorgesofYangtzeRiver.
AtfirstI’llhaveabriefintroductionofYangtzeRiver,theYangtzeRiver,thebiggestriverinChina,thethirdlongestintheWorld,startswiththeTuotuoRiverattheRoofoftheWorld-Qinghai-TibetPlateau,takesincountlessrivers,andflowseastwardacrosstheinteriorofChina.Withanoveralllengthofmorethan6,300kilometers,theYangtzeRiver,nextonlytotheAmazonandtheNile,isthethirdbiggestriverintheworldandisacradlethatbreedstheancientcivilizationoftheChinesenation.
WhentheYangtzeRiverreachestheeasternSichuanBasininsouthwestChina,itcutsthroughtheWushanMountain.Heretherivercoursesuddenlynarrowsandthewatersbecometurbulent.Sheercliffsandsteepmountainsriseoneitherside,creatingoneofnature'smostfantasticsights.TheThreeGorges---Qutang,wuxiaandxiling----startjustafterFengjieandendnearYichang,stretchabout200kilometers.TheGorgesvaryfrom300metresattheirwidesttolessthan100metersattheirnarrowest.
QutangGorgeisthesmallestandshortestGorge,butgrandestofthethree.TheYangtzeRiver,mightyandrapidhereissuddenlycontainedlike"athousandseaspouredintoonecup",astheSongDynastypoetSUTungpodescribedthespectacle.Highonthebothbank,ataplacecalledBellowsGorge,areaseriesofcrevices.Thisareaissaidtohavebeenthehomeofanancienttribewhosecustomwastoplacethecoffinsoftheircrevices,somecontainingbronzeswords,armourandotherartifacts,butthecoffinsarebelievedtodatebackasfarastheWarringStatesPeriod(475bc----221BC)
WuGorgeextends40kilometersalongwhichtheriversnakesbetweenbasedstrange-shapedmountainpeaks,eachofwhichhasareputationbasedonabeautifullegend.Thestoryofthe"12PeaksofWushangoeslikethis:12nymphsoncedescendedtoenjoythemselvesinthesecularworld.FindinghowperilousWushanGorgewas,theydecidedtostaytheretoprotectships.Astimewentby,theytransformedthemselvesinto12peaks.TheGoddessPeak,themostgracefulofthe12,issaidtohavebeenyaoji,theyoungestdaughteroftheQueenmotheroftheWesternHeaven.GoddessPeakstandsoutfromtheotherpeaksonthenorthernbanktobethefirsttogreetthemorningsunandthelasttobiditfarewell,henceitsanothername,ViewingtheglowPeak.Seenatadistance,itresemblesthesilhouetteofabeautifulyounglady.
DownstreamfromthezigzaggingWuxiaGorgeisXilingGorgewhichstretches78kilometerseastwardandthecliffsoneithersiderisetojustover900meters.XilingGorgeisawesomewithitsdangerousrapids,shoals,reefs,sharpturns,billowywhirlpools.Thewateratonepointissoturbulentthatitseemstobeboilingduringthefloodseason.XilingGorgeintheeastconsistsofseveralsmallgorges.Onthetopofanotherisarockthatlookslikeasword.Onthecragofthenorthbankaretwopiecesofbrownrock,whicharenamedBull'sLiverandHorse'Lung,whoseshapetheytake.NextdoestheLanternShadowGorge,whichhasfourrocks,resembleMonkXuanZangandhisthreedisciples---Monkey,PiggyandSandyintheclassicChineseadventuresofthefourontheirwaytoIndiatoobtainBuddhistscriptures.
AroundthelastbendofXilingGorgestretchesavastplain.Theriversuddenlybecomeswidehere.TravelersontheYangtzecruisemayalsovisitmanysitesofhistoricalandscenicinterestalongtheriverbanksincludingtheruinedofbaidiTownandPreciousStoneVillage.
EveryoneknowsthattheYangtzeGorgesarechangingsincethewell-knownThreeGorgesDamProjectisbeingbuiltatSabdouping,Yichang,HubeiProvince.Thedamis181metersinheight.Itsconstructioninvestmentcomesupto203.9billionrmb,equalsto24.65billionU.S.dollars.Theinstalledpowergenerationcapacityisexpectedtobe18.2millionkilowatts.Withthedambuilt,thefloodintheYangtzeRivervalleywillbecontrolled,navigationimprovedbesidestheeconomicbenefits.Tourismwillbelittleaffected.Manyculturalandhistoricalrelicsarenowbeingremovedtoahighergroundbeforetheriseofthewaterlevelapproaches.