Sanmenxia Dam

Sanmenxia Yellow River Dam

synonym

Sanmenxia Dam generally refers to Sanmenxia Yellow River dam

Sanmenxia Dam of the Yellow River is located in the northeast of Sanmenxia City, Henan Province. Sanmenxia Yellow River dam is adjacent to Shanxi Province in the north and Shaanxi Province in the west, which is known as the "Golden Triangle" in western Henan. Sanmenxia Yellow River dam is less than 20km away from the urban area. The project was started in April 1957, and the main project of the dam was basically completed in only about four years.

Sanmenxia Yellow River dam is the first large-scale water conservancy project built in the main stream of the Yellow River in China. Sanmenxia Yellow River dam is known as "the first dam of the Yellow River in ten thousand li".

Development history

AAA tourist area (spot). It's 14 kilometers from the city and 17 minutes by car. It is the first large-scale water conservancy project built on the Yellow River after the founding of new China.

In the 1950s of new China, Sanmenxia was known to all. In order to do well in the Yellow River, the water conservancy elites from all over the country went to Sanmenxia and built the Sanmenxia water conservancy project, the most memorable dam in the history of water conservancy in New China, and the only water conservancy project among 156 key projects aided by the Soviet Union. The project started on April 13, 1957 and was completed in 1961. It is known as "the first dam of the Yellow River". The completion of the dam put an end to the situation that the Yellow River burst twice in three years, and enabled the people on both sides to live and work in peace and contentment. Sanmenxia water control project is located in the lower section of the middle reaches of the Yellow River, connecting Henan and Shanxi provinces. It controls the drainage area of 688000 square kilometers, accounting for 91.5% of the total drainage area of the Yellow River; it controls 89% of the water inflow and 98% of the sediment inflow of the Yellow River. The project started in April 1957 and was basically completed and put into operation in April 1961. The key structures include: concrete gravity dam, inclined spur dike, surface outlet, bottom air, steel pipe for flood discharge and sand discharge, power house, etc. The main dam is a concrete gravity dam with a total length of 713.2m, a maximum dam height of 106m, a crest elevation of 353m and a total reservoir capacity of 16.2 billion cubic meters. Sanmenxia Hydropower Station has seven generating units with a total installed capacity of 450000 kW and an average annual power generation capacity of 1.4 billion kw · H. Since December 1973, the first generating unit has generated 23.52 billion kw · h, with an output value of about 2 billion yuan.

geographical position

Sanmenxia Yellow River Dam

Located in the northeast of Sanmenxia City, Henan Province, 14 kilometers away from Sanmenxia City, you can get there by tourist bus from the city. Relying on Sanmenxia Dam, the first dam of Wanli Yellow River, it is a reservoir sightseeing and recreational cultural landscape combining scenic spots and artificial landscape.

Main dam construction

General situation of dam

The main dam is a concrete gravity dam with a length of 713.2m and a maximum height of 106m; the auxiliary dam is a reinforced concrete core with a length of 144m and a maximum height of 24m; the total length of the main dam and the auxiliary dam is 857.2m. The powerhouse of the power station is dam rear type, with a total length of 223.88 meters and a width of 26.2 meters. It can be installed with 8 generating units. At present, there are 7 generating units with a power generation capacity of 410000 kW, which is low head runoff power generation.

History of the Yellow River

Since ancient times, the Yellow River has been regarded as a violent and harmful river. Its water regime is complex and difficult to control. In fact, the source of the Yellow River is a clear stream. From the source to the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the Yellow River is a good river with all kinds of benefits but no harm. In the middle reaches of the Loess Plateau, the Yellow River carries a large amount of sediment, rushing and roaring away, forming a world-famous "Yellow River". However, in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, due to the slow down of velocity and sediment deposition, the riverbed rises year by year, forming a "suspended river" spectacle, which directly threatens the safety of people's lives and property in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. Therefore, the harm of the Yellow River has always been the trouble of the rulers.

Governance process

As soon as new China was founded, the party and state leaders immediately began to harness the Yellow River. However, because the original design of Sanmenxia Dam was designed by Soviet experts, and they did not know much about the sediment problem of the Yellow River, they only wanted high dam height and large reservoir capacity, and ignored the problem of sediment deposition, resulting in 50.41 million cubic meters of sediment deposition in five years. Since 1964, the dam project has been reconstructed for many times, and finally the siltation in the reservoir area has been greatly reduced, the sediment in and out of the reservoir has been basically balanced, and the comprehensive benefits of flood control, ice control, irrigation, power generation and water supply have been realized. As of 1986, all the state investment in this project has been recovered. Sanmenxia water control project has not only made a good attempt, but also provided successful experience for harnessing silt laden rivers and muddy water power generation in the world.

advantage

Sanmenxia was chosen as the first dam on the Yellow River because Sanmenxia had many favorable conditions for dam construction at that time: first, Sanmenxia was the narrowest reach in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, which was convenient for river closure; second, Sanmenxia had fast water flow, which was easy for power generation after dam construction; third, Sanmenxia was a stone gorge with superior geological conditions; fourth, Renmen, Guimen and Shenmen islands were Yanmen Stone island structure can be used as dam foundation, which is conducive to construction diversion; 5) Sanmenxia is located in the lower section of the middle reaches of the Yellow River, which is the last gorge on the Yellow River, with the best flood detention effect; 6) large drainage area can be controlled, which can minimize the downstream water disasters.

Party and government care

The construction of Sanmenxia Dam has always been concerned by the party and state leaders. Premier Zhou Enlai visited the construction site three times. Preside over the meeting and study the problems of engineering construction. Liu Shaoqi, Dong Biwu, Deng Xiaoping, Li Xiannian, Peng Zhen, Chen Yun, Chen Yi, Li Fuchun, Nie Rongzhen, Peng Dehuai, Deng Yingchao, Luo Ronghuan, Tao Zhu, Guo Moruo, Xi Zhongxun, Wan Li, Li Peng, hu Qili and other leading comrades also came here to guide the work. After inspecting the Sanmenxia Dam, Comrade Dong Biwu wrote four chapters of guansanmenxia pivotal project and wrote an inscription for the builders. After his inspection, Guo Moruo wrote: "uncanny craftsmanship, natural danger, man-made axe danger for the barbarians; Sanmenxia hero Han, earth shaking epic." On June 19, 1999, General Secretary Jiang Zemin personally inspected the Sanmenxia Dam and showed great concern for the construction and development of the project.

scenery

After the completion of the Sanmenxia Dam, the Yellow River forms a beautiful lake in the Sanmenxia Gorge, covering an area of about 200 square kilometers, from October to June of the next year when the reservoir area is filled with water. From the Sanmenxia Dam to Dayudu, Ruicheng, Shanxi, 120 kilometers away, it is sparkling and boundless, like the Milky way in Tianchi. The green mountains and trees on both sides of the Strait are continuous and picturesque. In spring and winter, wild ducks and geese flock together, and precious white swans fly in the blue sky and water. From June to October every year, when the dam discharges flood water, the raging waves roll over, the canyon roars, the water splashes, and the rainbow flies in the air, which is spectacular. Standing on the Sanmenxia Dam, you can enjoy the magnificent momentum of "endless Yellow River rolling".

protecter

At the beginning of Sanmenxia Project, it was strongly opposed by Shaanxi. At that time, many government officials in Shaanxi tried to explain the impact of the project on Shaanxi through various channels. In fact, as early as the second session of the first National People's Congress in 1955, although the Sanmenxia water conservancy project plan of "high dam and large reservoir" proposed by the former Soviet Union experts was approved by all votes, it was also opposed by Huang Wanli, a water conservancy expert of Tsinghua University, and Wen Shanzhang, an intern of the State Administration of hydropower.

In 1958, one year after the Sanmenxia Project started, Shaanxi was still strongly against the Sanmenxia Project. The reason is: good soil and water conservation along the Yellow River basin can solve the problem of flood of the Yellow River, and there is no need to build the Sanmenxia Project. But the Sanmenxia Project did not stop. In 1960, the dam was basically completed and began to store water.

In the second half of 1961, Shaanxi's worry became a reality: 1.5 billion tons of sediment were all spread in the channel from Tongguan to Sanmenxia, the channel of Tongguan was raised, and the Weihe River became a suspended river. The groundwater in Guanzhong Plain could not be discharged, and the fields became salinized or even swamped, so the grain yield decreased year by year. In 1962, Shaanxi people couldn't help it any more. At the third session of the second National People's Congress held in April, Shaanxi Provincial representatives submitted a proposal to ask the State Council to formulate the operation principles and specific management plan of Sanmenxia Reservoir on the Yellow River as soon as possible, so as to reduce the siltation in the reservoir area and protect the production, life and life safety of residents above the 335m migration line.

harm

In the following years, although the operation mode of Sanmenxia Project has been adjusted several times, the harm of Sanmenxia Project to the upper reaches (mainly Weihe River, the largest tributary of the Yellow River) is still continuing. Similar dissatisfaction and disputes can not help but often appear until the recent Zhengzhou meeting.

At the Zhengzhou meeting, the deputy director of Shaanxi Provincial Department of water resources pointed out once again in the report: "the Sanmenxia reservoir area problem has lasted for 40 years, and the accumulated contradictions can no longer be solved by our province. The development of contradictions is completely caused by Sanmenxia taking into account its own interests and downstream interests."

On November 12, 2003, a staff member of Sanmenxia Hydropower Station, who did not want to be named, said in an interview with reporters: "since some water conservancy experts blame us for the cause of this year's flood in the Weihe River Basin, the leaders around the Weihe River seem to be right and strong. They want to blow up the Sanmenxia Project immediately and then quickly." He believes that harnessing the Yellow River is a systematic and large project, and building reservoirs step by step is one of the important aspects. There is sediment in the reservoirs

Chinese PinYin : San Men Xia Da Ba