Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
The Tibetan people describe the nature of their four main rivers in a series of important myths. The Nujiang River
is the beautiful mother of all rivers, originating in Tibet and flowing south, and the Dulongjiang, Jinshajiang and
Lancangjiang Rivers are her three sons. The Dulong-jiang is the bad-tempered eldest son, who brings severe dis-
asters and diseases to local people. The god of Kawagebo Mountain punished such bad temper by changing the
Dulongjiang's flow from the south to the west. The Jinsha River is the bold and uninhibited second son, bring-
ing fortune and gold to the local people. The huge wave sounds made by this arrogant river enraged the god of
Kawagebo, who changed the river flow from south to east. The last son is Lancangjiang, the Mekong River. He is
both kind and peaceful, bringing abundant fruits and agricultural products to those who live along his banks. The
stories of the rivers tell people what to expect from their natural environment and how they should behave towards
these primary sources of life-giving water.
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(2012:186)
The Lancang is indeed quite peaceful and tame in comparison to the other rivers in
this mythic story. The upper reaches of the Lancang gorge provide a hospitable climate
that supports paddy rice production in some places. Downstream, at the southern extent
of Yunnan, the Lancang passes through Xishuangbanna, a Dai Autonomous Prefecture
known throughout China for its subtropical climate and floral diversity. The Dai tradition-
ally maintained this agro-ecosystem through swidden practices, but much of the farmland
has been converted over the past several decades to rubber, palm oil, and tea plantations
(Guo et al. 2002).
LANCANG DAMS: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
The exploitation of the Lancang River basin for its hydroelectric power potential com-
menced on a modest scale nearly seventy years ago. The Tianshengqiao Hydropower Sta-
tion, a small facility with an installed capacity of 400 kilowatts, was completed in 1946
on the Xi'er River, a tributary of the Lancang. Since the 1980s, the scale and pace of
hydropower development have gained momentum on the Lancang's main stem, with a
Nuozhadu, are among the world's tallest arch dam structures, taller than the Three Gorges
Dam, and create very large reservoirs, inundating vast tracts of land and forcing the reset-
tlement of thousands of people (Magee 2006).
