China has done its best to ruin the scenery on the Yangtze River. Smog blots out the sun. Factories dot the shores. And the construction of a giant dam has flooded the Three Gorges, the famed river passage through towering limestone and sandstone cliffs.
Since 2003, the massive Three Gorges Dam near Yichang has plugged China's largest river. That created a reservoir expected to gradually fill over six years, driving up water levels more than 350 feet. Many people fear the ruin of one of China's iconic landscapes.
By the time we arrived at the Yangtze, about three-quarters of the flooding had occurred. More than 1,000 towns and hamlets had been submerged.
