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 with terrain lowering gradually from south to north. The western and eastern parts of the area, between the southern mountains and Bashan Mountain (), in the north, are comparatively lower; and in the past, the river flowed to the east through the region. As the crust of the locality continued to rise, the river's erosion intensified, and the Three Gorges were carved. The natural beauty of the Three Gorges along the Yangtze River has been appreciated for hundreds of years. In the Northern Wei (北魏) dynasty, Li Daoyuan (郦道元) described them in his work "Shui Jing Zhu" (水经注), or the