We embarked to a sampan boat for a leisurely excursion up a waterway. Our guide was a gal who lived in the cliffs along this tributary, so she could share firsthand what it was like to live in this beautifully remote area of the Yangtze River.
Families farmed on the hillsides and took small boats when they needed to go to the city, many miles away.
Due to periodic flooding and the destroying of entire villages, locks (looked like elevators) were needed to lower (or rise) boats based on water levels. We went through one of these locks and it took multiple hours to open to another river level. We happened to be traveling the river at the end of the dry season, so you could definitely see the flood markings along the river banks.
When those rains begin, the river is now able to handle the coming flooding rains because of the Three Gorges Dam.
We walked all over above the dam getting a bird's eye view of various elevators and the dam itself. This dam is the largest hydroelectric power station in the world. In addition to flood control, this dam produces about one-ninth of the nation's electricity. This dam also allows increased shipping to extend farther into some of China's remote areas.
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