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What happened when the Yangtze River was diverted during construction of the Three Gorges Dam?
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Three Gorges Dam
The Three Gorges Dam spanning the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) near Yichang, Hubei province, China.
When workers blocked and diverted the Yangtze River in 1997, it marked the conclusion of the first phase of construction for the Three Gorges Dam. This diversion was a critical engineering step that allowed for the subsequent phases of the project, which included the filling of the reservoir, the installation of turbine generators, and the construction of the dam's main wall.1