Hundreds of miles from China’s coast, a remote Himalayan river bend is emerging as the heart of one of the country’s boldest—and most controversial—infrastructure projects.
Expected to generate more electricity than any other in the world, the US$168 billion hydropower system underpins China’s ambitions toward an electric-vehicle future and an AI arms race with global rivals.
According to experts, the hydropower system, an unprecedented engineering challenge on Tibet’s lower Yarlung Tsangpo River, could help reduce China’s coal reliance, yet its construction threatens a rare ecosystem and Indigenous homelands. On a rare visit to Tibet earlier this year, Xi Jinping said the project should be advanced “forcefully, systematically and effectively,” signaling resistance to any criticism.
Dams were once seen as extremely useful for the environment. Today, however, the reality is changing. These towering formations can cause serious problems for the local environment and communities.
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