Green light given for hydropower dam on Upper Yangtze

BEIJING - China's State planner has given the green light for a 239-metre (784 ft) hydropower dam on the mountainous Tibet-Sichuan border, as plans to dam the Yangtze's upper reaches gather pace, according to a report in Caixin.

The International Energy Agency(IEA) ranks China is the world leader in hydropower production with 341 gigawatts (GW) of capacity, meeting a fifth of the country's energy needs.

Meanwhile, the State newsagency, Xinhua, says China is considering building two canals to connect the Yangtze River and the Pearl River, "two busy and economically important waterways in southern China".

Construction of the Xianggui (Hunan-Guangxi) Canal and the Ganyue (Jiangxi-Guangdong) Canal have been included in a draft plan on channels and ports on inner waterways.

 A version of the Xianggui Canal was originally built during the Qin Dynasty (221-201 BC), but its lanes have not been used since 1975.

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