The controversy behind China’s Three Gorges dam project, told by the people most affected.

June 2008 (check local listings)

 

Against the backdrop of China's stunning Three Gorges, this documentary tells the story of a powerful river that for centuries has helped shape the evolution of Chinese civilization - but today faces its greatest challenge. In 1994, the People's Republic of China approved the construction of the world's largest dam and hydroelectric power plant across this legendary river. Soon afterwards, voices of outrage echoed through the halls of the National People's Congress. Not since the protest of 1989 was the country so divided on an issue. Made without government authorization, "Great Wall" takes viewers into the heart of China and explores the controversy behind the dam project, told by the people most affected - the engineer who believes in his country and its urgent need for new sources of power and flood control; the people who are being forcibly relocated to make way for the immense reservoir; the biologist who works to find ways to save the Baiji River dolphin from extinction; and the archaeologist who attempts to recover ancient artifacts before time runs out.