Taiwan

It sometimes seems that the history of Taiwan only began in 1949. This was when the Koumintang, led by Chiang Kai Shek and on the losing side of the Chinese Civil War, withdrew to the island of Taiwan. Ever since, there have been "two Chinas", the Republic of China on Taiwan and the People's Republic of China on the mainland. 

The two have never reunited, but are not completely separate. Most of the world recognizes the People's Republic, on the mainland, as the "real" China, but Taiwan has become a great nation in it's own right.

The Nationalist Chinese forces brought along a lot of China's historical treasures when they withdrew to Taiwan in 1949. A building was constructed near Taipei for a museum, and built in the style of one of the pavilions in the Forbidden City.

The National Palace Museum, displaying the historical treasures of China that the Nationalists managed to bring with them to Taiwan in 1949, is shown in these five images from Google Street View.

But the history of Taiwan does not begin with 1949, it actually goes back a long way. Many people from neighboring Fujian Province, about 150 km away on the mainland, had long settled in Taiwan. Today, Taiwan is structured almost like one continuous city on it's west coast, facing mainland China, with the rest of the island being mostly rural and mountainous. 

The modern history of Taiwan, aside from the civil war on the mainland, has not always been peaceful. The following four scenes, from Google Street View, are of the 228 Peace Memorial Park, and the National Taiwan Museum. This is to commemorate a 1947 uprising that was put down on February 28.

The capital city of Taiwan it Taipei, at the northern end of the island. Taipei had the world's tallest building for about six years. These two images, from Google Street View, are of Taipei 101.

Sun Yat Sen, considered as the founder of modern China, is highly regarded both in Taiwan and on the mainland. His mausoleum is in Nanjing, on the mainland. The following scenes begin at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei.

These two images of the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall are from Google Street View.

There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >. After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

https://www.google.com/maps/@25.0393484,121.5603665,3a,75y,174.24h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s3w8PIzIVVP13M-W8T99JZQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D3w8PIzIVVP13M-W8T99JZQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D174.77835%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

This is the Xinyi District of Taipei.

https://www.google.com/maps/@25.0418102,121.5750867,3a,75y,3h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1si78KoZ4VIHlWsmnJ3H_PqQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3Di78KoZ4VIHlWsmnJ3H_PqQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D3.0205078%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Here is some more of the central city. The following seven images are from Google Street View and Google Earth.

These scenes begin outside the Office of the President of Taiwan. There is plenty of traditional Chinese architecture which shows that the history of Taiwan most certainly did not begin in 1949. The first image, of the Office of the President, is from Google Street View. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@25.0389117,121.5119996,3a,75y,143.75h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sEPbEO4EG5uAeeZk9icAbWg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DEPbEO4EG5uAeeZk9icAbWg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D146.40233%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

This is the Luzhou District, in the northern part of Taipei.

https://www.google.com/maps/@25.0856918,121.4664784,3a,75y,75h,68t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPgSq90VbbHU3cqu9vo3eLSpHAZPzASt33KfzGF!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPgSq90VbbHU3cqu9vo3eLSpHAZPzASt33KfzGF%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-21.999998-ya334.45834-ro0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352

At the opposite end of Taiwan, the southern end of the island, lies the city of Kaohsiung. It is known to be warmer than Taipei because the mountains of the island block the north wind. The following scenes begin in the center of Kaohsiung. The tallest building, constructed as an arch in three pieces, is the Tuntex Sky Tower. The first four images of the Tuntex Tower are from Google Street View.

These two general views of Kaohsiung are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@22.6161913,120.3010902,3a,75y,46h,87t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s61QnsaiIubC3nYwMdza4YQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D61QnsaiIubC3nYwMdza4YQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D46.500008%26pitch%3D-3%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Here is the Yancheng District of Kaohsiung.

https://www.google.com/maps/@22.6245154,120.2842264,3a,75y,169h,88t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPJjwLyVE-ccfaoh_uR3045DW9CbEJmrX83lfcw!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPJjwLyVE-ccfaoh_uR3045DW9CbEJmrX83lfcw%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-2.9338646-ya302.5-ro0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352

Finally, we come to a place that has some special meaning for me. It is the industrial district of Kaohsiung. The reason that it has meaning is that the ship that I came across the ocean on when I was a young boy ended up here. The name of the ship was the Empress of England. Image from the Wikipedia article "Empress of England.

The ship was launched in 1957, but probably shouldn't have been built. Air travel was already starting to put the great ocean liners out of business. I took the ship along it's usual Liverpool to Montreal route, but it would be scrapped less than twenty years after being launched. Some ocean liners had a dignified end, like the Queen Mary floating hotel in California. But the one I came over on ended it's days being sold as scrap metal.

I see online that the Empress of England was sold in 1975, and brought to Kaohsiung. China Steel started it's first blast furnace here shortly after, and I presume that it is where the ship ended up.

https://www.google.com/maps/@22.5351281,120.364116,3a,75y,139h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sOXCdHkdppkCywEL9ALvxIA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DOXCdHkdppkCywEL9ALvxIA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D139.21516%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

The Two Fours

When I was a young boy, I had a brief discussion with my parents about writing the number four. Unlike the other numerals, there were two different ways to write a four. These we could call the "open four" and the "closed four". I was instructed to write the "open four" as the "closed four" was "old fashioned".

But I noticed that the page numbers of books were always the closed four, 4. Road signs everywhere always seem to use the closed four. Image from Google Street View.

Handwriting seems to be a mix of the closed and open fours. What gave a major boost to the open four was digital display technology, using lighting elements that can either be on or off. If seven elements are arranged in a square figure 8, any numeral can be displayed by which elements are on or off. This favors the open four.

But when computer and smart phone technology came along, it decisively shifted the balance back to the closed four. At this point the digital displays, as shown above, are all that is keeping the open four alive. We can expect that someday it will pass into history.

Apocalyptic Developments

Donald Trump had made a campaign promise that he would end the war in Ukraine, and recently had a call with Vladimir Putin. But then Russia launched the largest aerial attack of the war on Ukraine. That was followed by Donald Trump statements that Vladimir Putin had gone "absolutely crazy" and was "playing with fire". 

But let's stop and think. Trump and Putin are both in their 70s. They have already achieved their ambitions of leading superpowers and won't be able to take their fortunes with them. What they still have left to achieve, which is by far the greatest thing of all, is to secure their place in eternal history by facilitating the Return of Jesus to set up His Kingdom on earth.

We know that the Return of Jesus must be immediately preceded by the reign of the Antichrist. The Antichrist will be allowed to reign for seven years and this time, at least the second half of it, will turn into the worst time that the world has ever seen. But this means that the way to facilitate the Return of Jesus is to prompt the emergence of the Antichrist.

We saw in the postings "The End Of The World As We Know It" and it's accompanying posting "Inducing The Apocalypse" that the world is all set for the Apocalypse, which coincides with the reign of the Antichrist. The Antichrist will seem to have all the answers to everything and the first half of his seven-year reign will actually be the best time that the world has ever seen.

Since Donald Trump has not only not succeeded in his promise of ending the war in Ukraine but Vladimir Putin has gone "absolutely crazy", the world needs someone with all the answers more than ever.

Donald Trump Against Science

Donald Trump's apparent war against higher education in general, and science in particular, is all the more reason for the individualistic approach to science that I am advocating here. If anyone can be an influencer or a star on social media then why can't anyone be a scientist?

If you think you have noticed something new, you can easily search to see if it has ever been pointed out before and then take it right to the people. 

Centuries ago, the Reformation brought freedom to Christianity. Now anyone can think for themselves, read the Bible for themselves, join whatever church they wanted to, or start their own church. Why can't we bring the same concept to science?

Here is a link to the things that I claim to have discovered.

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2024/07/summary-of-science-on-this-blog.html?m=0

The Mediterranean Is Not Really A Sea

More has been added to this.

It has been in the news lately about what the difference is between a college and a university. In the U.S. my understanding is that, if it offers up to a bachelor's degree or below it is a college, if it offers up to a master's degree or a PhD it is a university.

But what is the difference between a sea and an ocean? The definitions of the two go back to ancient times and the definitions are relatively simple. An ocean is one of the few main bodies of water in the world. A sea is a branch off an ocean, partially separated from the main body of the ocean by land.

A sea is sometimes called a "gulf". I really don't see any definable difference between a sea and a gulf. Why is the Caribbean Sea a sea but the Gulf of Mexico is a gulf? Why is the Red Sea a sea but the Persian Gulf is a gulf? 

Maybe if it's partially separated from the sea by islands it's a sea, but if it's partially enclosed by the mainland it's a gulf, as with the Gulfs of Thailand or Tonkin. But then shouldn't the Bay of Bengal be a gulf? But if it is a gulf then why is the Arabian Sea a sea?

Since the seas and oceans were named many centuries ago a lot has been learned about geology and how the earth operates. A body of water was named as either a sea or an ocean by it's scale and position. An ocean was one of the few large bodies of water that separated the continents and a sea was a branch of the ocean, partially separated by the main body of the ocean by islands or the shape of the mainland.

But these definitions are just about the role of the body of water in the surface of the earth. Seas and oceans are also structured differently. Seas are typically relatively shallow branches of oceans while the oceans are the deep wide bodies of water that separate continents. 

Regarding the difference between a sea and an ocean the most important rule does not seem to be depth. Seas are usually shallow because they enclose part of a continental shelf but some seas can be deep if they go beyond the continental shelf.

The most important rule in differentiating a sea from an ocean is continents. An ocean separates continents while a sea is adjacent to a continent.

The seas and oceans were named long before this was understood. I cannot see that there is any process for reclassification of seas and oceans. Maybe it's time that there was because the Mediterranean is really an ocean, and not a sea.

Unlike seas the Mediterranean separates continents. It separates Europe and Africa. In geological terms Europe and Asia are often considered as one continent, Eurasia. But if we consider Europe and Asia as separate continents then the Mediterranean actually separates three continents.

Seas are branches of the ocean, partially separated from it by islands. Seas are not usually branches of other seas, although this is not a strict rule. The Yellow Sea branches off the East China Sea and the Baltic Sea branches off the North Sea. But the Mediterranean has no less than four of the world's major seas branching off it, the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea, the Adriatic Sea, and the Tyrrhenian Sea. No other sea has anything like this.

Like an ocean the Mediterranean has a deep center, with shallow continental shelves on either side. Dark blue is deeper than light blue. Image from Google Earth.

There are two things that the Mediterranean doesn't have to be an ocean. The first is the scale, in terms of surface area it is much more like a sea than an ocean. The second is that the other oceans are all joined together but the Mediterranean is connected to the Atlantic Ocean only by the narrow Straight of Gibraltar.

If we were to consider the Mediterranean as an ocean there is something that has to be taken into account. The Mediterranean would be the only ocean with it's long axis being aligned latitudinally, or east-west. Since the general movement of the continents has been northward, this means that the Mediterranean has been "squeezed" in ways that the other oceans haven't.

Each ocean has what we could call a defining geological factor. The Pacific Ocean is defined by the Pacific Plate, which is by far the largest of the earth's tectonic plates. The Hawaiian Islands are where magma from below manages to break through the plate. The Atlantic Ocean is defined by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which is pushing the two sides of the ocean apart. The Atlas Mountains of Morocco was once part of the Appalachians. Iceland, with it's volcanic activity, is where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge pokes above the surface of the water. The Indian Ocean is defined by being in the south while the general movement of the continents, driven by the spin of the earth, is northward. The Arctic Ocean is defined as the remaining water space in the far north remaining after the movement of the continents northward.

The defining geological factor of the Mediterranean is that it is aligned perpendicular, rather than parallel, to the general movement of the continents northward. This caused it to be compressed or "squeezed", by the northward movement of Africa, as well as the Arabian Peninsula, but, other than that, it has the characteristics of an ocean, rather than a sea. The Red Sea is sometimes described as the beginning of an ocean. The Mediterranean could likewise be described as the closing of an ocean. 

That gives us a clue to what is happening. There must be a rule that when what was intended to be an ocean closes, due to tectonic movement, it must be balanced by ocean space opening up somewhere else. The Red Sea is actually an extension of the Great Rift Valley, across east Africa, which is also opening up.

The following image, from Google Earth, shows the Mediterranean Sea (white dot), the Red Sea (red dot) and the Great Rift Valley (yellow dots). 

Notice that the directional alignment of the Mediterranean is mostly east-west and the averaged alignment of the Red Sea and Great Rift Valley is about the same but the alignments of the two amounts to a perpendicular counterbalance to that of the Mediterranean. As the Mediterranean, which is really a natural ocean, closes, due to the northward tectonic movement of Africa then there must be a corresponding perpendicular opening of an ocean to counterbalance it.

This agrees with what we saw in the geological theory, about Continental Asteroids and lines of magma emergence. The most natural place for magma, hot molten rock, to emerge from below is along the equator, due to the spin of the earth. But this must be balanced by perpendicular longitudinal lines of magma emergence.

The posting "Geology Theory With Satellite Imagery And Maps", March 2024, is an abbreviated explanation of the geology theory.

Volcanic Weather Effects

The extended period of unseasonably cold weather where I live in a reminder that there is another great peril to civilization that doesn't get much attention. It is the possibility of a major volcano eruption, although I am not claiming that this is caused by a volcano or that such an eruption is certain to happen.

There were two great such eruptions in the Nineteenth Century, Tambora in 1815 and Krakatoa in 1883. Both volcanoes were located in what is now Indonesia. In recent memory there has been the eruptions of Mount St. Helens and Mount Pinatubo, but neither of these came close to having the global effects of Tambora or Krakatoa.

The eruption of Tambora threw so much debris into the upper atmosphere, which scattered around the world, that the following year, 1816, is known as "The Year Without A Summer" because the debris blocked so much sunlight.

The colder summer temperatures caused by the reduced sunlight caused devastating harvest failures across the world. The year 1817 became known in northern Europe as "The Year Of The Beggar". The change in climate, accompanied by vivid red skies and spectacular sunsets, lasted about three years until the dust released by the volcano settled to earth.

This scenario was repeated, late in the Nineteenth Century, with the eruption of Krakatoa which was almost as powerful as Tambora. The global temperatures were lowered until the dust released by the volcano settled back to earth. The eruption of Krakatoa, in 1883, is especially known for the shockwaves that it produced, which were felt thousands of km away.

Great tsunamis were produced by the eruption of Krakatoa, which echoed across the world. As with Tambora the eruption reddened the sky and produced brilliant sunsets, which caused many false alarms of forest fires in New York State. The sky is usually blue because only small particles of dust can stay aloft, which reflect the short-wavelength blue light. But a massive volcano eruption puts larger dust particles in the atmosphere which, until they settle back to earth, reflect the longer-wavelength red light.

Disastrous harvest failures caused by great volcanic eruptions have taken place throughout recorded history. Around the year 1600 Russia is believed to have lost about a third of it's population because of a volcanic eruption in far-distant Peru.

There is, of course, absolutely nothing that humans can do about a pending volcanic eruption. But, like the great solar storm known as the Carrington Event in 1859 which would fry the sensitive electronics that we are utterly dependent on across the world if it occurred today, no eruption on this scale has occurred since Krakatoa in 1883.

Volcanoes vent heat that is trapped inside the earth. There is still heat from when the earth was formed, which would have long since radiated away if it was at the surface. Radioactive elements release energy upon decay and this is always going on inside the earth and the energy is stored up as heat. 

The moon was once volcanic but being smaller than the earth means that it has a much greater surface-to-volume ratio than the earth. This allowed the moon's internal heat to radiate away into space and the moon is believed to be now volcanically dormant.

There are well-established volcanic zones around the world, but that does not preclude an eruption in an unexpected place. There is a vast reserve of magma, molten rock, beneath the western U.S., which provides the heat for the hot geyser, known as Old Faithful, in Yellowstone National Park.

But, as we can see in the examples of Tambora and Krakatoa and the earlier volcano in Peru, it doesn't really matter where the volcano is located for it to have a devastating effect on global agriculture, because the dust that it throws into the upper atmosphere and which blocks the sunlight gets scattered around the world.

The one advantage of such a major volcanic eruption world be, of course, at least a temporary reversal of global warming.

My geology theory explains why the busiest place in the world for volcanoes is Indonesia. A summary of the theory is in the posting "Geology Theory With Satellite Imagery And Maps", March 2024.

Wuhan

Wuhan is a centrally-located Chinese city and, as a result, has always been a center for trade throughout the country. It is located on the Yangtze River, one of China's two great rivers with the other being the Hwang Ho, or Yellow River.

Wuchang is one of the three cities that were put together to form Wuhan, to the east of the Yangtze River. This is where the Republic of China began. It was the Wuchang Uprising that led to the end of the Qing Dynasty. Sun Yat Sen returned from exile and became it's president, and the last Qing Emperor abdicated.

The revolution that began with the Wuchang Uprising is known as the Xinhai Revolution. There was a provisional government, in a way similar to the October (Russian) Revolution, but this preceded the October Revolution by six years. The Xinhai Revolution is yet another that reflects the French Revolution. Like the French Revolution with it's "Liberte, Fraternite, Egalite", there was Sun Yat Sen's "Three Principles of the People". Like the French Revolution, there were attempts to restore the emperor afterward.

The following scenes, on the Wuchang or eastern side of the Yangtze River, include the Yellow Crane Tower. This tower was first built in the year 223. It has been destroyed, and rebuilt, many times. The current tower was built in the 1980s. The bridge that can be seen in the distance, in some of the images, is the Wuhan Yangtze Bridge. This bridge preceded the one far downstream in Nanjing, that we saw on our visit there. This image of the Yellow Crane Tower is from Google Street View.

There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >. After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

https://www.google.com/maps/@30.5448299,114.3034602,3a,75y,169h,88t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-03I2O6-PSKM%2FWSiZ7kSa2rI%2FAAAAAAAASWg%2FdNiNygMAj9Q60Wn1G3TZJ-uG22cQksL9gCLIB!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2F-03I2O6-PSKM%2FWSiZ7kSa2rI%2FAAAAAAAASWg%2FdNiNygMAj9Q60Wn1G3TZJ-uG22cQksL9gCLIB%2Fw203-h100-k-no-pi-2.9338646-ya266.5-ro0-fo100%2F!7i8192!8i4096

These scenes begin in downtown Wuchang, the eastern side of the Yangtze River. If some of the buildings look Spanish, it is because there is an area that is an imitation of Spain. The first seven images of Wuchang are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@30.5051728,114.4000519,3a,75y,124h,88t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-4mAUbtjRsQA%2FVUSqR7YyCfI%2FAAAAAAAAMH8%2FqX_NY8EcPmAF0voE2DIPJBBY3-3ha9OtQCJkC!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2F-4mAUbtjRsQA%2FVUSqR7YyCfI%2FAAAAAAAAMH8%2FqX_NY8EcPmAF0voE2DIPJBBY3-3ha9OtQCJkC%2Fw203-h100-k-no-pi-2.9999962-ya350.5-ro-0-fo100%2F!7i2509!8i1254

Here is central Wuhan, also on the Wuchang or eastern side of the Yangtze River. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@30.559965,114.332672,3a,75y,271h,88t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-IZ1cSeIVA8c%2FU9M5itf4IvI%2FAAAAAAAAD9I%2FEoFpcLR81ZMTWHKLZpObB-MRhFbl8miQwCJkC!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh4.googleusercontent.com%2F-IZ1cSeIVA8c%2FU9M5itf4IvI%2FAAAAAAAAD9I%2FEoFpcLR81ZMTWHKLZpObB-MRhFbl8miQwCJkC%2Fw203-h100-k-no-pi-2.9999962-ya339.5-ro-0-fo100%2F!7i6656!8i3328

This is Hankou, one of the three cities that were originally put together as Wuhan, to the northwest of the Yangtze River. The name of Wuhan appears to have come from combining Wuchang and Hankou. The first four images of Hankou are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@30.5839282,114.2972339,3a,75y,316h,88t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-78vf9TYZ1XA%2FWB1GyQeqmjI%2FAAAAAAAAAOQ%2FWvKHK91dm3YKAW2b6gkRKHbbpVfl0Nx4QCLIB!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh4.googleusercontent.com%2F-78vf9TYZ1XA%2FWB1GyQeqmjI%2FAAAAAAAAAOQ%2FWvKHK91dm3YKAW2b6gkRKHbbpVfl0Nx4QCLIB%2Fw203-h100-k-no-pi-2.9999962-ya317.50003-ro-0-fo100%2F!7i8704!8i4352

The third of the cities that was put together to form Wuhan is Hanyang, which is to the southwest of the Yangtze River. The following four images, from Google Street View, are of Hanyang and of looking across from the Wuchang side.

https://www.google.com/maps/@30.547514,114.2539444,3a,75y,1h,76t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-1OTCNeIrmtc%2FV8DpGcP4mwI%2FAAAAAAABdgM%2FteZcwidtmDATwPFq_RSrZUk4D0OWPiIzACLIB!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2F-1OTCNeIrmtc%2FV8DpGcP4mwI%2FAAAAAAABdgM%2FteZcwidtmDATwPFq_RSrZUk4D0OWPiIzACLIB%2Fw203-h100-k-no-pi-14.933861-ya107.5-ro-0-fo100%2F!7i9728!8i4864

About 300 km, nearly 200 miles, west of Wuhan is the Three Gorges Dam. This was the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. Ships can be lifted right over it. The first two images, from Google Street View, are of the dam.

These two images from Google Earth show how only the central part of the dam, indicated by the red dots, actually generates electricity.

Ships must be raised or lowered, according to their direction, when transversing the dam. Smaller ships can be lifted over the dam by a ship lift. But larger ships must pass through a canal with five locks. In the following image, from Google Earth, the red dot shows the ship lift and the yellow dot shows the lock system in the canal for larger ships.

These two images, from Google Earth and Street View, show the two parallel canals, one for each direction, and a ship passing through at night.

Notice, in the following image from Google Earth, how the doors of the locks, indicated by the red dots, are always constructed so that they open against the direction in which the current would flow, so that it would hold the doors shut.

Here is a look around the Three Gorges Dam.

https://www.google.com/maps/@30.8327617,111.0121,3a,75y,61h,85t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-PLlXQSh1ekg%2FVtzSFjrL9nI%2FAAAAAAAABPE%2Fts2LFXQK0GYmLich9pc4hNtz4B58tVp8wCJkC!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2F-PLlXQSh1ekg%2FVtzSFjrL9nI%2FAAAAAAAABPE%2Fts2LFXQK0GYmLich9pc4hNtz4B58tVp8wCJkC%2Fw203-h100-k-no-pi-5.3020835-ya318.80505-ro0-fo100%2F!7i5376!8i2688