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
Three Gorges Dam vulnerable hinged type, which, if damaged, could temporarily render the entire flight unusable. As there are separate sets of locks for upstream and downstream traffic, this system is more water efficient than bi-directional staircase locks. In addition to the canal locks, there is a ship lift, a kind of elevator for vessels. The ship lift can lift ships of up to 3,000 tons. The vertical distance traveled is 113 metres, and the size of the ship lift's basin is 120×18×3.5 metres. The ship lift takes 30 to 40 minutes to transit, as opposed to the three to four hours for