Xiaonanhai Dam Xiaonanhai Dam The Xiaonanhai Dam was a proposed dam on the Yangtze River in Chongqing, China. It was to have an associated 1,760 MW hydroelectric power station. Preliminary construction on the dam began on 29 March 2012 and earliest completion was expected in 2019. However, it was cancelled in March 2015 due to environmental concerns. The project, under responsibility of the Chongqing municipal government, was initiated under the stewardship of Bo Xilai prior to his fall from grace in 2012. The dam was to be constructed by China Three Gorges Corporation 40 km upstream of the city, and 700 km
Three Gorges the river along vertical fractures, forming precipitous cliffs. When the river flows through areas of softer sandstone and shale, which have less resistance to erosion, the erosive effect is increased, carving wide valleys. There are different theories on how the Three Gorges were formed, but geographers and geologists have generally reached a consensus, believing mountain folding in the east of Sichuan Province and the west of Hubei Province, including the Wu Mountains (), were the outcome of the Yanshanian movement () around 70 million years ago. The gorges run from southwest to northeast, then turn, and from west to east,