Yangtze River

金沙江是长江从青海玉树至四川宜宾2300公里长的区段。河流在这里切割成一连串的大峡谷，这些峡谷是丰富多样的少数民族群体的故乡和一些中国最重要的生物多样性热点地区。金 沙江也处在一个世界最大的水电开发领域的核心。在这一领域计划中的水电发电量大约相当于三峡大坝本身10倍的发电量。在金沙江的下游和中游有12个水坝工程（见地图） 。此外，金沙江的主要支流也正在截流：计划在岷江有 6个水坝， 大渡河有17个，以及雅砻江有21个。

The Jinsha River (or "River of Golden Sands") is the name of the 2,300-kilometer section of the Yangtze River from Yushu in Qinghai Province to Yibin in Sichuan. Here the river carves a string of grand canyons, home to diverse ethnic minority groups and some of China's most important biodiversity hotspots. The Jinsha River is also at the heart of one of the largest hydropower development areas in the world. Planned hydropower output in this area is equal to about ten times the power produced by the Three Gorges Dam alone. There are about twelve dams in the works for the lower and middle Jinsha River (see map). In addition, major tributaries to the Jinsha River are also being dammed: six dams are planned on the Min River, seventeen on the Dadu River, and twenty-one on the Yalong River.