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Among the potential tragedies of the Three Gorges Dam project are over one thousand sites of archeological and historical importance that will be submerged and lost forever upon completion of the dam. Ancestral burial grounds and centuries-old temples, fossil remains and archeological sites dating as far back as the Paleolithic Age risk being obliterated from public access and scholarly pursuit if they are not unearthed and relocated before the waters rise.
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Ba Civilization: Artists and Metal Workers
When initial excavations began for the Three Gorges Dam, archeologists uncovered artifacts unlike any they had seen before. These relics have since been attributed to the formerly unknown Ba people, now considered an important part of early Chinese history. Since the discovery of bronze masks in the 1970s, archeologists have located 100 sites that belonged to the Ba people, each considered a historical archive. The Ba disappeared after 316 B.C. with the invasion of the Qing Dynasty, and their whimsical animal statues and ornately inscribed daggers are all that is left behind.
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Ancient Fossils at Dragon Bone Cave
One of the most exciting discoveries in the region are remnants of early man from two million years ago. A jaw bone and stone tools found 12 miles south of the river at Dragon Bone Cave provide evidence that cave dwellers lived in the region at the same time as the earliest humans on the African continent. The jaw bone, identified as belonging to a new sub-species of Homo Erectus, indicates that humans arrived in Asia almost a million years earlier than previously believed.
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Shibaozhai Temple
Dating back to 1545, this
Ming Dynasty temple was built against the side of a
massive cliff that stands like a pillar on the bank of
the Yangtze River. Called the "Pearl of the Yangtze,"
the 12-story, wooden pagoda rises to a height of
over183 feet. It contains portraits of famous
historical figures from the Sichuan Province. An
architectural marvel in Chinese history, it has been
classified as one of the "eight strange structures of
the world."
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Zhang Fei Temple
Located in Yunyang county, this temple from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127 A.D.) honors the famous Shu Kingdom general, after whom the temple was named. Zhang Fei was one of the Three Sworn Brothers during the Three Kingdom Period (220-265 A.D.). It is said that when he was murdered by two subordinates, his body was buried in Lang Zhong and his head brought to Yunyang. Among other artistic treasures, the temple contains a statue of the legendary hero.
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