Goodmorning,ladiesandGentlemen,WeletoChina!WeletoHubeiProvince!
TodayIamverypleasedtoshowyouThreeGesofYangtzeRiver.
AtfirstI’llhaveabriefintroductionofYangtzeRiver,theYangtzeRiver,thebiggestriverinChina,thethirdlongestintheWorld,startswiththeTuotuoRiverattheRoofoftheWorld-Qinghai-TibetPlateau,takesincountlessrivers,andflowseastwardacrosstheinteriorofChina.Withanoveralllengthofmorethan6,300kilometers,theYangtzeRiver,nextonlytotheAmazonandtheNile,isthethirdbiggestriverintheworldandisacradlethatbreedstheancientcivilizationoftheChinesenation.
WhentheYangtzeRiverreachestheeasternSichuanBasininsouthwestChina,itcutsthroughtheWushanMountain.Heretherivercoursesuddenlynarrowsandthewatersbeeturbulent.Sheercliffsandsteepmountainsriseoneitherside,creatingoneofnature'smostfantasticsights.TheThreeGes---Qutang,wuxiaandxiling----startjustafterFengjieandendnearYichang,stretchabout200kilometers.TheGesvaryfrom300metresattheirwidesttolessthan100metersattheirnarrowest.
QutangGeisthesmallestandshortestGe,butgrandestofthethree.TheYangtzeRiver,mightyandrapidhereissuddenlycontainedlike"athousandseaspouredintoonecup",astheSongDynastypoetSUTungpodescribedthespectacle.Highonthebothbank,ataplacecalledBellowsGe,areaseriesofcrevices.Thisareaissaidtohavebeenthehomeofanancienttribewhosecustomwastoplacethecoffinsoftheircrevices,somecontainingbronzeswords,armourandotherartifacts,butthecoffinsarebelievedtodatebackasfarastheWarringStatesPeriod(475bc----221BC)
WuGeextends40kilometersalongwhichtheriversnakesbetweenbasedstrange-shapedmountainpeaks,eachofwhichhasareputationbasedonabeautifullegend.Thestoryofthe"12PeaksofWushangoeslikethis:12nymphsoncedescendedtoenjoythemselvesinthesecularworld.FindinghowperilousWushanGewas,theydecidedtostaytheretoprotectships.Astimewentby,theytransformedthemselvesinto12peaks.TheGoddessPeak,themostgracefulofthe12,issaidtohavebeenyaoji,theyoungestdaughteroftheQueenmotheroftheWesternHeaven.GoddessPeakstandsoutfromtheotherpeaksonthenorthernbanktobethefirsttogreetthemorningsunandthelasttobiditfarewell,henceitsanothername,ViewingtheglowPeak.Seenatadistance,itresemblesthesilhouetteofabeautifulyounglady.
DownstreamfromthezigzaggingWuxiaGeisXilingGewhichstretches78kilometerseastwardandthecliffsoneithersiderisetojustover900meters.XilingGeisawesomewithitsdangerousrapids,shoals,reefs,sharpturns,billowywhirlpools.Thewateratonepointissoturbulentthatitseemstobeboilingduringthefloodseason.XilingGeintheeastconsistsofseveralsmallges.Onthetopofanotherisarockthatlookslikeasword.Onthecragofthenorthbankaretwopiecesofbrownrock,whicharenamedBull'sLiverandHorse'Lung,whoseshapetheytake.NextdoestheLanternShadowGe,whichhasfourrocks,resembleMonkXuanZangandhisthreedisciples---Monkey,PiggyandSandyintheclassihineseadventuresofthefourontheirwaytoIndiatoobtainBuddhistscriptures.
AroundthelastbendofXilingGestretchesavastplain.Theriversuddenlybeeswidehere.TravelersontheYangtzecruisemayalsovisitmanysitesofhistoricalandscenicinterestalongtheriverbanksincludingtheruinedofbaidiTownandPreciousStoneVillage.
EveryoneknowsthattheYangtzeGesarechangingsincethewell-knownThreeGesDamProjectisbeingbuiltatSabdouping,Yichang,HubeiProvince.Thedamis181metersinheight.Itsconstructioninvestmentesupto203.9billionrmb,equalsto24.65billionU.S.dollars.Theinstalledpowergenerationcapacityisexpectedtobe18.2millionkilowatts.Withthedambuilt,thefloodintheYangtzeRivervalleywillbecontrolled,navigationimprovedbesidestheeconomicbenefits.Tourismwillbelittleaffected.Manyculturalandhistoricalrelicsarenowbeingremovedtoahighergroundbeforetheriseofthewaterlevelapproaches.