Diane Snider Photos

Construction of the Three Georges Dam has caused the water level of the Yangtze River to rise approximately 135 feet from its old level which even then caused very serious flooding almost every year. The permanent higher new water level has forced countless cities to completely demolish their waterside locations and to reconstruct new cities high on their hillside locations. The area of bare earth shown in this photo was originally covered with structures necessarily torn down yet all the rubble from such demolition has been cleared away carefully. Building materials are costly and hard to come by in much of China and salvageable materials are carefully gathered and kept for reuse in new construction. Yet to be built on the barren earth you see in the photo are huge ramps generally hundreds of feet in width which will connect the now high city with the river. These ramps will allow use of wheeled items such as bicycles, wagons, carts, etc, as well as have steps for pedestrians. Look closely at various other of my Yangtze River photos and you will spot many examples of these ramps and their usage.