Remarkable Achievement in the Resettlement

The Dam project is so far the largest key water conservancy project in the world. The reservoir that will appear upon the completion of the dam will be an enormous one, 663 kilometers long, coveting an area of 1,084 square kilometers.

Resettlement of population from the flooded area is of vital importance to the whole project. And the larger part of the task falls on Chongqing, which faces the task of relocating over 85% of the total population. The task to move out one million people is a unique difficulty in the world.

To realize the three purposes of water conservancy, power generation and navigation at water level of 135 meter in June 2003, the second period of resettlement is smoothly going on. Until the end of 2001, resettlement in Chongqing has made great achievements. 16.73 billion yuan has been invested on resettlement, which in took up 53% of total investment of 31.55 billion yuan. 15.05 million square meters flooded buildings have been moved and reconstructed, which constituted 48%of 31.33 million square meters to be moved and reconstructed. 433 thousands of population have settled down in newly constructed buildings, which made up 42% of 1.03 million migrants. 184 thousands of rural settlers have arranged, accounting for 52.6% of 350 thousands of settlers. 91,128 people have been moved out of the former counties and resettled in another one. Readjustment of 728 flooded industrial and mining works has accomplished, which constituted 52.1% of 1397 works to be readjusted. The dam area has embarked on the road of biological economic development. As an area that enjoys support from 29 ministries and commissions of the State Council, 22 provinces and cities, and quite a number of well- known enterprises have made investment in the dam area, bring about remarkable and social and economic results. The dam area is becoming an attractive hot spot for investment.

Rescue of Historical Cultural Relics

Three Gorges culture is the most magnificent chapter in Yangtze River civilization. With progress of the dam project, rescue of historical cultural relics in the dam area has been smoothly going on a large scale since 1997.

In the dam area there are 246 ground historical cultural relics, such as Zhang Fei's Memorial Temple in Yunyang, Baiheliang in Fuling, Shibaozhai Stockade in Zhongxian, and 506 underground cultural relics, such as Xiaotianxi in Fuling, the ancient temple in Yunyang, and Daxi in Wushan. Chongqing faces the hardest challenge in protecting cultural relics in the dam area. More than 60 units, including archeological research institutions, units for preservation of ancient structures, colleges, and scientific research institutions, have come to Chongqing to join in the rescue work. Valuable objects unearthed include pottery of the New Stone Age, bronze vessels with Ba cultural characteristics, saint birds of Han Dynasty and gold girdle of South Song Dynasty. Until the end of 2001, excavation of underground cultural relics within more than 400 thousand square meters was completed in dam area; 44 cultural relics spots were wholly planned and excavated. Data of 62 ground cultural relics were sorted. Relics in 35 places were put under protection without being moved. Relics in one place were moved to other places. 85 projects to be moved and protected went through the preliminary design. The order of pre- historical culture development in Chongqing was initially founded. The Three Gorges Museum of China is under construction.

In the year of 2001, 10 archeological findings in dam area were proved. They respectively are: relics of New Stone Age tombs and early residues of Shaopengzui Culture in Wushan; residues of early Shaopengzui Culture and Buddha figures of Tang Dynasty in Fengdu; early residue of Shaopengzui Culture and pottery kilns of West Zhou Dynasty in Zhongxian; Ba tombs of War Period in Kaixian; pottery bell of Han Dynasty in Yunyang; Buddha figures of Han Dynasty in Fengdu; stone que of Han Dynasty in Zhongxian; Chinese chess in Han and Wei Dynasty in Wangzhou; residues of buildings of Tang Dynasty in Yunyang.

Exhibition of Culture Relics in Three Gorges has made a successful debut in Chongqing, Hong Kong and Guangzhou.