Flooding The Yangtze Valley

Filmmaker Yung Chang was raised in Montreal by first-generation Chinese immigrants. Growing up, his grandfather told him stories about the mythical Yangtze River.

A third of China’s population lives along the river. It’s the lifeblood of the country. Peasants have farmed the Yangtze River Valley for millennia.

But the entire valley is currently being flooded to create the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydroelectric dam. And it’s expected to provide one-tenth of China’s energy needs. But it’s also driving as many as four million people from their homes.

Yung Chang travelled up the Yangtze and found a river far different than the one his grandfather described. His documentary, Up the Yangtze, follows two young people who find work on a luxury cruise ship, ferrying wealthy foreigners on “farewell tours” of the valley. He joins Word of Mouth on the phone from Los Angeles.

Watch the trailer for Up the Yangtze:

(Photo by Jonathan Chang)