Three Gorges Dam

In this picture, taken as we were making our way towards the dam, you can see the new city built up higher, anticipating the new water level. All along the river there are abadoned or soon-to-be-abandoned cities, and many of them already have their higher-altitude doppelgangers in place.

We saw this hydrofoil go by us upstream and downstream several times after we got close to the dam. It was very fast.

Finally, we got within sight of the dam. This is a somewhat-fuzzy shot as we approach the ship locks. Our general impression of the thing is that it's like being inside the biggest James Bond villain headquarters supercomplex ever. It is so big it's hard to take seriously.

By the time we got into the locks, it was almost completely dark. Being surrounded by giant concrete walls on either side definitely had a 007 feel to it.

The next morning, those who were willing and able to get up early and fast enough got a short tour of the dam itself. This means all of these pictures were taken by Alison.

This is not a model, it really is that big.

Really, not a model.

Soooo big.

This is a nice sculpture on part of the dam.

This model is where the Bondian supervillain would stand as he described how his new doomsday device worked. The people are not supervillains, however, but the nice couple who shared our table on the ship.