The People's Republic of China is situated in the eastern part of Asia, on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean. China has a total land area of 9.6 million square kilometers. From north to south, it measures 5,500 kilometers, while from west to east, it is about 5,200 kilometers. The Chinese mainland is flanked by the Bo Hai Sea, the Huang Hai Sea (Yellow Sea), and the East China and South China Seas. More than 5,400 islands are scattered over China’s vast territorial waters, the largest being Taiwan and Hainan which are two provinces of China. The Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions are next to Guangdong Province.
China’s mainland is high in the West and low in the East, having a surface slope stepping down like a staircase. Most of China’s rivers flow from west to east into the Pacific Ocean, except a few in south-west China that flow southwards. The rivers in China have an aggregate length of 22,000 km and more than 1,500 of them drain an area exceeding 1,000 km2. The Yangtze River (Changjiang River), 6,300 km long, is the largest river in China. It has a catchment area of 1.809 million km2. The Yellow River (Huanghe River), stretching over 5,464 km, is China’s second largest river. The largest freshwater lake is Lake Poyang with an area of 3,583 km2 and the largest salt lake is Lake Qinghai embracing an area of 4,583 km2.
Most of China is situated in the temperate zone with some parts of Southern China in the tropical and sub-tropical zone, leading to a rich variety of animals and plants, and abundant  mineral resources.
China has 94.97 kilohectares of cultivated land, three-fifths of it irrigated.
China is divided into 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, and 4 municipalities directly under the leadership of Central Government, and one special administrative region.
China has a long history. The Xia Dynasty was established in 2100 BC. In 221 BC, the Qin Dynasty ended the rivalry among the independent principalities in the Zhanguo (Warring States) Period and established the first centralized, unified, multi-national state in Chinese history. In October 1949, the People’s Republic of China was proclaimed. By the end of 1996, China had a population of 1,223.89 million (excluding Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao).
China maintains diplomatic relations with 159 countries, and has close international economic relations since the open policy implemented in 1978.
By the end of 1997, the installed power generation capacity of hydropower in China reached 59,730 MW (59.7 GW), and an output of 194.6 TWh, while the installed capacity of power plant under construction is around 36,000 MW (36 GM).
Beijing, the capital of China, is an ancient city with a long history. It is gifted with plentiful historical relics and beautiful landscape. Beijing has been the capital of China from the time of the Yuan Dynasty and through the Ming and Qing dynasties lasting 800 years. It has long been the nation’s political and cultural center. The city has many places of historic interest and scenic beauty. Tourism has increased greatly since the implementation of the open policy in the 1980s.
As the capital city, leaving out the historic and scenic sights, there are enormous modern hotels and international conference centers which can hold many international conferences at the same time.
In recent years, as a modernized capital city, there have been great improvements in transportation, communications and public utilities, and direct flights are available to 25 countries.
 

 
CITY TOURS AND EXCURSIONS 

An exciting sightseeing coach tour around downtown Beijing is scheduled, participants will appreciate the impressive overview of the modern metropolis and the distinctive traditional quarters as well. In particular, a short stop at Tian'anmen Square will be arranged. An adequate amount of time will be set aside for shopping excursions.
 Visits to the scenic areas of the Forbidden City, Beihai Park, Great Wall, Ming' Tombs, Summer Palace, Yuanmingyuan, Temple of Heaven, Yonghegong Lama Temple and so on are also scheduled. Invitations are extended to Congress participants as well as accompanying persons to join in any or all of the tours. A special travel agency will be in attendance at the registration desk, and will give detailed explanations and information on practical aspects during the meeting.

 STUDY TOURS
 
TOURS  A1, B1 and C1  Three Gorges

TOUR A1 Pre-Meeting (7 ?14 September 2000)
TOUR C1 Post-Meeting (23 ?29 September 2000)

Participants in these tours will take a flight from Beijing to Chongqing (city tour), which is a municipality directly under the Central Government in South-West China, and leave for Yichang by luxury passenger liner at night, passing through scenic spots at Baidicheng, Tiny Three Gorges, the Three Gorges Project dam site and Sanyoudong, etc. The tour terminates in Yichang City.
 Gezhouba Project, completed in 1988, is known as the first dam on the Changjiang River (48m, 2720 MW). The Three Gorges Project is the largest hydroelectric project in the world (183 m, 18,200 MW), including spillway dam, power houses and navigation lock, and is now in the second stage of construction.

TOUR B1 During the Meeting (15 ?18 September 2000)

Participants will fly from Beijing to Yichang, seeing the Sanyoudong Park and the Chinese Sturgeon Hatchery. Then, participants will also visit Gezhouba Project and Three Gorges Project under construction.

TOUR A2 Shaanxi Province (7 ?14 September 2000)

Xi’an is an ancient capital city in Chinese history. The terra-cotta warrior figurine and bronze chariots and harness in Lishan Qinshihuang Tomb is one of the wonders of the world. The Banpo Village Museum is the remains of villages from the Neolithic Age (about 6000 years ago) where you can see how ancient peoples lived and worked. The Forest of Steles Museum displays plentiful ancient carvings of calligraphy and handicraft articles.
 Jinghui Channel is an irrigation system, built in the 1930s, with an annual diversion volume of 450 million m3 irrigating an area of 90,000 hectares. Shitouhe Reservoir, completed in 1989, was built mainly for the purpose of flood control and irrigation, with a 114m-high earth-rock dam with clay core. Jinpen Reservoir under construction is a 130m clay core rockfill dam for water supply to Xi'an city.

TOUR A3 Guizhou Province (7 ?14 September 2000)

Participants will take a flight to Guiyang from Beijing or Hong Kong (city tour), and afterwards visit the Puding RCC arch dam by coach through Anshun, the Huangguoshu Waterfall, Natural Caves Park and Longgong Limestone Karst Cave, then back to Guiyang.
 From Guiyang, the tour will lead to Donfeng dam site (163 m, 510 MW) by coach, passing through Maotiaohe project and the scenic area of Hongfeng Reservoir.
 Puding is the first RCC arch dam built in China, it is located on the Sanchahe River and was completed in 1993. Dongfeng arch dam (75 m, 45 MW) was completed in 1997.

TOUR A4 Hebei Province (9 ?14 September 2000)

The whole tour will be by coach. Qinhuangdao is an excellent deep-water harbor in Hebei Province, and Shanhaiguan is an imposing gate tower, the start of the Great Wall, known as the finest gate in the world. The site of the remains of the first Qin emperor is also located here. At Dongling, the tombs of emperors of the Qing Dynasty can also be visited.
 Panjiakou project with composite pumped storage power station is equipped with one 150 MW normal generating set and three 100 MW reversible units, the gravity dam is 107.5 m in height, the multipurpose reservoir is for power generation, flood control and water supply. Taolingkou RCC gravity dam (82 m, 20 MW), completed in 1998, functions mainly for flood control and water supply with supplemental power generation. Wenquanpu RCC arch dam (48 m) was completed in 1994 for the purpose of water supply.

TOUR A5 Yunnan Province (7 ?14 September 2000)

Participants can fly to Kunming from Beijing, Shanghai or Hong Kong. The city tour in Kunming takes in beauty spots at Dian Lake, West Mountain, Jindian Temple and Grand Building for a wide panoramic view. Then the tour will proceed to the Stone Forest, Changshan Mountain and Erhai Sea in Dali and the Tropical Forest of Xishuanbanna.
 Chaishitan CFRD (102 m, 40 MW) on Nanpanjiang River will be completed in 1999, Dachaoshan RCC dam (118 m, 1350 MW) on Lancangjiang River is under construction, Manwan gravity dam (128 m, 125 MW) was completed in 1993. (photo)

TOUR A6 North-East China (7 - 14 September 2000)

Flying from Beijing to Changchun (city tour), the tour will visit Changbaishan Forest and Tianchi Lake which was formed by the breaching of a dead volcano with a waterfall at the outlet.
 Fengman is a gravity dam (91 m, 90 MW) on Shonghuajiang River built by the Japanese in 1941 during the occupation. Considerable repair work has been needed due to the poor concrete quality.
 Baishan is an arch gravity dam on the Shonghuajiang completed in 1983 It is 150 m in height with a total installed capacity of 1500 MW in a power house and underground powerstation.
 Xiaoshan CFRD on Songjiang River was completed in 1997 (85.5 m, 160 MW).

TOUR B2 Beijing (15 ?18 September 2000)

Juyongguan and Badaling are two neighboring sections of the Great Wall with steep mountains, imposing buildings and beautiful scenery. Shisaling Tomb with its outstanding underground palace for the emperors of the Ming Dynasty can be visited.
Shisanling underground pumped storage power station (800 MW) has a reinforced concrete faced dam for the upper reservoir; the former Shishanling Reservoir is used as the lower reservoir. Miyun Reservoir is the main water source of the water supply for Beijing, the dam has a height of 66 m and a storage capacity of 4380 million m3.

TOUR B 3 Anhui Province (15 ?18 September 2000)

Participants will fly from Beijing to famous Huangshan, taking in Huangshan Mountain, Qiyunshan, Jiuhuashan and the Residence Museum of the Ming-Qing Dynasty in She County. There is an ancient water works near the County.
 Chencun arch gravity dam on the Qingyijiang was built in 1971 (75 m, 150 MW, 2720 million m3); chemical grouting treatment was applied in the foundation.

TOUR C 2 Zhejiang Province (23 ?29 September 2000)

Route 1 After flying from Beijing to Huangshang scenery area, the tour will go on to Xinanjiang Reservoir and by water to Xianjiang dam, then to Hangzhou which is known as the garden city of China (city tour). Sightseeing will take in West Lake, Liuhe Pagoda, Lingyin Temple, Dragon Well and Yue Fei Temple.
 Tianhuangping pumped storage power station (1800 MW) went into operation in 1998. The upper reservoir is formed by a rockfill dam with asphalt concrete facing (72 m), and the lower reservoir, by a CFRD (93 m).
 Chenchun gravity dam was completed in 1971 (75 m, 150 MW).
 Xinanjiang gravity dam was built in 1960 (105 m, 663 MW).

Route 2 Participants will fly from Beijing to Wenzhou, sightseeing in the city and along Oujiang, then go by coach to Hangzhou, known as the garden city of China (city tour). They can visit West Lake, Liuhe Pagoda, Lingyin Temple, Dragon Well and Yue Temple.
 Shanxi CFRD is an important hydroelectric project on the Feiyunjiang (131 m, 200 MW), which is now under construction. Tianhuangping pumped storage power station went into operation in 1998 (1800 MW). The upper reservoir is controlled by a rockfill dam with asphalt concrete facing (72 m), and the lower reservoir has a CFRD (93 m). Jinshuitan arch dam was built in 1960 (102 m, 663 MW).
 Xin’anjiang gravity dam was built in 1960 (105 m, 663 MW).

TOUR C3 Hunan Province (23 ?29 September 2000)

Flight from Beijing to Zhangjiajie, famous for its natural scenery (photo), then coach to provincial capital Changsha to visit the city and Yuelu Mountain, with sightseeing on Xiangjiang river.
 Wuqiangxi gravity dam was completed in 1996 (88 m, 1200 MW). Lingjintan gravity dam which is on the lower reach with bulb turbine equipment (270 MW, 49m) will be completed in 1999.
 Jiangya RCC gravity dam now under construction (128 m, 30 MW) will be completed in 1999.

TOUR C4 Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (23 ?29 September 2000)

Visit to the Guilin Karst area, Lijiang River, with its many caves like Qixing Stone and Ludi Stone. The Guilin scenery is praised as the most attractive landscape in the world. Nanning is the provincial city (city tour).
 Ling Canal is a trans-basin navigation project built by the Qin Dynasty (219 BC), connecting the Changjiang River and Zhujiang River basin. It was constructed with two stone masonry spillway dams named big and small Tianping.
 Qingshitan earthfill dam was constructed in 1964 (60 m, 30 MW). Tianhu  is the highest-head (1074 m) water diversion power station in China with a mountain-top upper reservoir (48 m, 30 MW). It was completed in 1994.
 Yantan RCC gravity dam was completed in 1993 (111 m, 1210 MW).
Dahua hollow gravity dam was completed in 1983 (79 m, 400 MW).

TOUR C5 Guangdong and Hainan Province (23 ?29 September 2000)

Visit the subtropical zone of China. Guangzhou beside Zhujiang River is the largest city in Southern China, famous for its beautiful landscape and plentiful products. Yuexiu Park, Flower Tower and Conghua Hot Spring are famous tourist spots in the city. On Hainan Island, there are many well known sea shore beauty spots, such as Haikou, Sanya, and the Botanic Garden Edge of Sky and Sea scenery (the remotest corners of the earth). (photo)
 Guangzhou pumped storage power station is on the Liuxi River, with an installed capacity of 1200 MW. The upper reservoir has an earthfill dam (69 m) and the lower reservoir has an RCC gravity dam (48 M). It is now in the second stage of construction.
 Liuxihe arch dam with underground powerhouse was completed in 1958 (78m, 42 MW).
 Daguang RCC gravity dam was completed in 1995 (55m, 240 MW).

TOUR C6 Henan Province (23 ?29 September 2000)

Participants will fly from Beijing to Zhengzhou, proceed from Zhengzhou by coach to visit the White Horse Temple, Shaolinshi Temple and Longmen Grotto, then go on to Luoyang to see the Luoyang Museum.
 Xiaolangdi zoned rockfill dam is designed for flood and sediment control and power generation (155 m, 1800 MW), it is the largest major hydro project on the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River.
 Guxian Reservoir was completed in 1992 with a gravity dam (116 m) and powerhouse (60 MW). Dam length is 311 m.

TOUR C7 Upper Reach of Yellow River (23 ?30 September 2000)

This tour takes in the two provinces of Gansu and Qinghai. The north-west plateau has some distinctive scenery like Taer Temple, an important holy place in Lamaism, Qinghai Lake, the biggest saltwater lake, and the Bingling Temple Grotto, famous for its historical relics and stone figurines.
 There are three power stations on the upper reach of Yellow River. Longyangxia with arch gravity dam is the “dragon-head?project (178 m, 1280 MW, 27620 million m3), completed in 1992. A notable highlight is the peculiar treatment of the dam abutments.
 Lijiaxia arch dam was completed in 1998 (155 m, 2000 MW).
 Liujiaxia gravity dam was completed in 1969 (147 m, 1125 MW).

TOUR C8 Sichuan Province (23 ?30 September 2000)

Sichuan province abounds in water resources. The ancient Dujiangyan irrigation system built in 219 BC is still functioning smoothly. Wuhou Temple, Dufu Thatched Cottage and Qingyang Palace are well known tourist attractions in Chengdu, the provincial city. Qingchengshan has the famous temple of Taoism, the scenery here is reputed to be the most impressive and secluded place in the world. In the Panda Nature Preserve, the living habits and characteristics of these precious animals can be viewed. On the way to Ertan high arch dam, participants will pass through Kunming, the provincial city of Yunnan Province, which is also called Spring City for its agreeable weather, and then see the Great Buddha in Leshan.
 Ertan is the highest double curvature arch dam in China (240 m, 3300 MW), with an underground powerhouse which will be completed in 1999.
 Tongjiezi RCC gravity dam was completed in 1994 (82 m, 600 MW), a CFRD was connected at the left abutment.
 Shapai, the highest RCC arch dam in the world (132 m, 36 MW), will be completed in 1999.

MAIN PARAMETERS OF DAMS TO BE VISITED
CARACTERISTIQUES DES BARRAGES VISITS