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.