Breaking the Wall: China and the Three Gorges Dam‪.‬

ALEXANDER KUO, World in Review Editor, Harvard International Review November 7, 1997, marked the beginning of the end for a scenic stretch along the Yangtze River in Yichang, China. Groups of giant Caterpillar trucks disposed large boulders into the roaring currents of the world's third longest river. The man-made obstacle sealed off a dike to divert the waterflow, marking an instrumental step toward the completion of China's Three Gorges Dam, slated to be the largest dam in the world. Diverting the river is the first step in preparing the area for the construction of numerous hydropower plants and intricate locks. As President Jiang Zemin and Premier Li Peng looked on over a crowd of 5,000 celebrants, the international media compared the undertaking of this feat to the construction of the Great Wall of China and the pyramids of the Pharaohs.