China / Campaigns

The Mekong River, known as the Lancang in China, is the heart and soul of mainland Southeast Asia. Over 60 million people depend on the river and its tributaries for food, water, transport and many other aspects of their daily lives. The river supports one of the world’s most diverse fisheries, second only to Brazil’s Amazon River.

China is the country with the highest numbers of dams in the world, and in recent years, Chinese institutions have taken a lead in building dams not just domestically but also abroad. Chinese banks and companies are involved in constructing dozens of large dams outside of China,

The Three Gorges Dam is the world’s most notorious dam. The massive project sets records for number of people displaced (at least 1.3 million), number of cities and towns flooded (13 cities, 140 towns, 1,350 villages), and length of reservoir (more than 600 kilometers). The project has been plagued by

International Rivers has worked on several other projects in China, including Tiger Leaping Gorge Dam, Zipingpu Dam, and Megoe Tso Lake.