Three Gorges Dam success socially and economically, with the design of state-of-the-art large turbines, and a move toward limiting greenhouse gas emissions. However, the dam flooded archaeological and cultural sites, displaced some 1.3 million people, and had caused significant ecological changes including an increased risk of landslides. The dam has been controversial both domestically and abroad. A large dam across the Yangtze River was originally envisioned by Sun Yat-sen in "The International Development of China", in 1919. He stated that a dam capable of generating 30 million horsepower (22 GW) was possible downstream of the Three Gorges. In 1932, the Nationalist government, led
Three Gorges Dam government estimated that the Three Gorges Dam project would cost 180 billion yuan (US$22.5 billion). By the end of 2008, spending had reached 148.365 billion yuan, among which 64.613 billion yuan was spent on construction, 68.557 billion yuan on relocating affected residents, and 15.195 billion yuan on financing. It was estimated in 2009 that the construction cost would be recovered when the dam had generated of electricity, yielding 250 billion yuan. Full cost recovery was thus expected to occur ten years after the dam started full operation, but the full cost of the Three Gorges Dam was recovered by December