Issue 7: Golden waterway congestion

Chuanjiang River is accessible day and night, all year round

Statement: In recent years, it has been a regular occurrence that a large number of ships have to wait to pass the gate; some fear that the Three Gorges Project has affected the Yangtze River's status as the 'golden waterway'.

Investigation: Before the construction of the Three Gorges, the low-grade and poor navigation conditions of Chuanjiang waterway acted as a limiting factor on the development of Yangtze River shipping trade.

Expert's view: Since the commissioning of the Three Gorges, the water channel has been cleared, and all the dangerous torrents, shallows, and rapids have been removed. The Chuanjiang waterway is accessible day and night, and all year round.


Issue 8: A huge change of river regime

Slight overall changes, along with bank collapse problem

Question: Since the commissioning of the Three Gorges Project, the discharge of clear water has led to an increase of the water's sediment-transport capacity. Is the river regime stable in the middle and lower reaches? Is the problem of riverbank collapse controllable?

Investigation: There has been continual construction and reinforcement work done on riverbank protection, and there has been no major incident in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River since the Three Gorges came into service.

Expert's view: Statistics shows that there has been no significant change of the overall river regime.