August 29, 2008

Today is my birthday. My wife had a lovely card for me. Do not feel 66. Visited Three Gorge Dam which required climbing 241 fairly steep steps. Took it one go while wife and others had to stop numerous times. Could not see the dam very well because of the fog. It is the largest hydroelectric dam in the world, and a major source of pride for the Chinese. Perhaps the most interesting thing we saw were the ship locks, which consist of five locks about one mile from the dam. The locks will enable ships to completely traverse the Yangtze. Our guide was named Max and he said he was a relocate who was “very happy” (a phrase we heard repeatedly) with his relocation. He said the government paid for half of his new apartment. When repeatedly pressed during a Q and A on the bus about persons (particularly older ones who did not want to leave their ancestral homes) who did not want to be relocated, his answer reflected his lack of understanding how a court system works. He kept stating that the government had a wheel that it used to determine what someone’s compensation should be. He did not understand the concept of petitioning the government to redress a wrong, regardless of how much compensation might be offered.