Xiaonanhai Dam upstream from the Three Gorges Dam. Weng Lida, a former director of the water resources bureau at the Yangtze River Commission, said that senior China Three Gorges executives had succumbed to pressure from the Chongqing authorities. According to the "South China Morning Post", Chongqing's success in overcoming all major obstacles to the dam's construction is attributed to the personal intervention of Bo. The project was strongly opposed by environmentalists, who saw it as a "politically motivated decision". It was highly controversial due to the environmental impact, the high cost-benefit ratio, as well as the secretive decision-making process under Bo. A
Xiling Gorge the length of the entire Three Gorges region, is actually a series of four different gorges: Precious Sword; Horse Lung & Ox Liver; Soundless Bell; and Shadow Play Gorges. The Three Gorges Dam was constructed at Sāndòupíng in the middle of the Xiling Gorge. Before the construction of the Three Gorges Dam and Gezhouba Dam, Xiling was known for being the most dangerous of the three gorges to travel through, with frightening whirlpools and strong rapids. Since the construction of the dams, the river's depth has increased from in some areas below the dam, to well over throughout the reservoir's