If anyone doubts that the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in China is as much about national prestige as flood control and hydroelectric power, they should pay it a visit. A tour bus will take you 40km (25 miles) from the gritty river city of Yichang and through military checkpoints guarding the visitors’ centre. You get the state-approved experience this way: ferried by electric buggy between vantage points showcasing the phenomenal engineering of the project, with chunks of the immense construction machinery displayed like historic artifacts. Read more
