Travelling is usually pleasant, but what you see and hear can sometimes be upsetting.
This happened during my recent visit to the Three Gorges.
'Wan County, partially submerged. Resettlement population: 159,333. Fengjie County, completely submerged. Resettlement: 78,832.'
As I was taking in all these figures, I couldn't help but think about all the sad stories behind the Three Gorges Dam project. My heart sank.
When the project is completed in 2009, the Gorges will become a lake 600 kilometres in diametre. The water level will rise 175 metres. Gone will be the beautiful scenery and the towns and villages which were home to 1.2 million people.
While townspeople are being settled into their new homes up on the hills or across the river, farmers are not as lucky. Many will be relocated to other provinces, some as far as Xinjiang.
