Magnificent, "Wonderful", "Amazing" typified the frequent exclamations from Asian parliamentary delegates who came to
Yichang Monday to visit the Three Gorges Project, the world's top water conservancy project.
The 18 parliamentary delegations who attended the Third General Assembly of the Association of the Asian Parliaments for Peace (AAPP) which ended on last Friday in southwestern China's
Chongqing Municipality, inspected local power station workshops and the latest construction progress on the project.
Joseph Michael Perera, speaker of the Sri Lanka Parliament, said that "the world renowned Three Gorges Project is really beyond my imagination. Its construction proves China's economic strength and development potential."
Ichizo Ohara, member of the Japanese House of Representatives, said he took a great fancy when he was young to the Legend of the Three Kingdoms, one of the four classic Chinese masterpieces.
"As some relics on the banks of the Yangtze River dating back the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280 A.D.) will be submerged after the project is completed, I am really glad to have got a chance here to enjoy the beauty of the Three Gorges area and the valuable relics," he said.
Finding construction proceeding smoothly, Ohara said "the project will make China richer and more prosperous and a richer and more prosperous China will benefit Japan."
The dam project which began in 1993, is now into the second phase of construction and will be completed in 2009. When the river is dammed for the third time this December, its water level will rise to 135 meters.
To guarantee the project's success, China has invested a lot in the relocation of local residents, ecological protection and the rescue of cultural relics.
"For China, at present, the top issue is development," said Bolot Hudaibergeonov, vice speaker of the Kyrgyzstan parliament.
He believed that the project would bring tremendous benefits for the Chinese people in flood prevention, electric power generation,shipping and ecology.
"As the neighbor of China, this country's development will be a launching pad for Kyrgyzstan's economic prosperity, too," he said.
The wish to strengthen cooperation with China in water conservancy projects was also voiced by delegates from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
The heads of the delegations also visited the city of
Yichang neighboring the Three Gorges and planted on the city's riverbank 18 Three Gorges Firs, a rare plant with the highest state protection.
Jamiruddin Sircar, speaker of Bangladeshi National Assembly, said, "the trees we planted here will be a life-long memory and will witness the dam's future success. As the trees can survive to 1,000 years old, they are also a symbol of the AAPP's goal of peace and prosperity and everlasting friendship between China and Bangladesh."
Sun Zhigang, an official from the standing committee of Yichang's People's Congress said, "May friendship and the trees of peace last forever."
