Three Gorges Dam
The Great Wall was once China's claim to fame in the man-made-marvel department, but its new Three Gorges Dam along the Yangtze River is not only said to be the country's largest construction project since the Wall, but also its future source of energy, commerce, and defense against the Yangtze’s treacherous floods. One-and-a-half-miles wide and more than 600 feet high, the dam’s colossal reservoir allows 10,000-ton ocean freighters to sail some 1500 miles inland and, perhaps more impressive, its hydropower turbines will create as much electricity as 18 nuclear-power plants. While controversy has shrouded the project, advocates promise the environmental benefits will outweigh the environmental damages. Whichever side you take, one thing is certain: the modern world will marvel at the engineering muscle behind the Three Gorges Dam for years to come.
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