Later on deck, talk moved to the controversial dam. (The Canadian-Chinese economist) said that traffic in these small towns was a mess--why? Because they didn't have a reliable source of electricity. This, he said, the dam would provide, contrasting it with coal and nuclear. Tough choices in our world.
    By late afternoon, we hurried to the bow to view the locks of the Gezhouba Dam, which generates almost three million kw per hour, precursor to the great Gorge project. Joining the queue of vessels, we entered one of the channels, concrete walls towering over us. When we were tightly packed, the rear gates closed and water began to pour in, raising us sixty feet to the river's new level. Then, the front gates opened and we moved out into the Xiling Gorge.
    This gorge is the longest of the three, once the most dangerous, with whirlpools, hidden rocks and shoals. In the soft dusky light, we wound our way past walled villages and pagodas, fishermen and ancient junks, cultivated fields and lush peaks that soared around us as the sky dissolved into flaming swirls. The river gleamed pink and orange, then went black. Now, out of the darkness, we saw flashes of light on the north bank: work had begun on the new dam--and was continuing even after nightfall.