It will be built on the Yarlung Tsangbo River, just before the river exits the Himalayas and flows into India, along the world’s longest and deepest canyon located at an altitude of more than 1,500 meters. Yarlung Tsangbo is one of the major rivers of Asia originating in Tibet, flowing through India, Bangladesh and flowing into the Bay of Bengal (this river is named Brahmaputra when coming to India and Meghna when flowing into Bangladesh).

A hydroelectric dam on the Brahmaputra River. (Photo: Indiandefencereview)

The hydroelectric project in Medog district in Tibet is expected to break the record of the Three Gorges dam on the Yangtze River, in central China, with an expected capacity of 300 billion kw of electricity per year. This ambitious project was also featured in China’s 14th Five-Year Plan at the 4th Session of the National People’s Congress of China in March 2021. However, Chinese officials have yet to release the details, timeframe and budget for the project. Before that, China has implemented the construction of a number of smaller hydroelectric projects on this river.

In October 2020, Tibetan officials signed a “strategic cooperation agreement” with PowerChina – a company specializing in the construction of hydroelectric projects. Expressing his passion for “arguably the richest region in the world for this hydroelectric resource”, Yan Zhiyong, head of PowerChina, explained that the dam will generate ample electricity thanks to the Great slope of the river in this distance.

Beijing thinks the project is an eco-friendly alternative to fossil fuel use, however, it runs the risk of encountering strong opposition from environmentalists, like like what happened with the Three Gorges Dam. The Three Gorges Dam was built from 1994 to 2012, crossing the Yangtze River, the section that flows through Hubei province, and is currently the largest hydroelectric dam in the world.

The Tam Hiep Dam created a huge reservoir with a surface area of ​​more than 1,000 square kilometers, causing 1.4 million residents to evacuate. To complete the project, 40,000 workers worked non-stop for 17 years, at a cost of tens of billions of dollars.

Brian Eyler, program director of Southeast Asia, Stimson Research Center in Washington DC, USA, said: “Building a dam of great size can be a bad idea for many reasons.” Not only is it famous for its strong seismic activity, the area where China plans to build a super dam also has a unique ecosystem. According to Mr. Brian Eyler, the new dam can stop fish migration and sediment flows help the soil become fertile downstream during the flood season.

Tempa Gyaltsen Zamlha, an environmental expert at the Tibetan Policy Institute, said that the project could face both ecological and political risks. Speaking to AFP, Mr. Tempa Gyaltsen Zamlha said: “We have a very rich cultural heritage in this area. Therefore, any dam construction can damage the ecosystem and affect those heritages ”. According to Tempa Gyaltsen Zamlha, the dam project will force many locals to leave their homes.

The danger of “water war” explosion

Analysts fear tensions between China and India could turn from the disputed border area of ​​the Himalayas to the flow from the world’s highest mountain range. India has repeatedly expressed concerns about China’s mega-dam construction project.

Many analysts said, China intends to use the super dam on the Yarlung Zangbao River to control the flow, putting pressure on downstream countries, like what it did with the Mekong River. Some other opinions that Beijing is intending to control the water resources of the whole South Asia region.

In a commentary in Times of India, political scientist Brahma Chellaney assessed: “The water war is an important element of war. China can use upstream power to control its most essential natural resource.

This expert warned that the risks associated with seismic activities will make the dam become a “water bomb” that can explode at any time and threaten the lives of people in the downstream area.

In response to China’s super dam plan, the Indian government has come up with the idea to build another dam on the Brahmaputra River to increase water storage and neutralize the impact of the project that Beijing follows. chase.

“There is still plenty of time to negotiate with China about the future of the super dam and the impact it will create,” said expert Eyler, but he also noted, “the failure of negotiations will cause India to build. another dam downstream ”./.

Sanxingdui site, known as “one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of mankind in the 20th century”, has been sleeping for three thousand years. Six sacrificial pits have been newly discovered, from which more than 500 golden masks and bronze trees have been unearthed. The splendid ancient Shu civilization that once disappeared in the long river of history has unveiled its veil layer by layer and displayed it in front of the world.

So why did the ancient Shu people in Sanxingdui smash, burn, or even bury these artifacts? There is a saying that for worship. People in the past paid great attention to their own affairs, especially princes and nobles, who paid particular attention to funerals. Sacrifice can best reflect the ancient funeral culture.

Taking the emperors of the past dynasties as an example, their tombs must not only choose “treasure places”, but also design cemetery buildings and “xiangsheng” honor guards in front of the tombs. Often, there are luxurious and strong underground palaces with luxurious burials.

Today, I will take you to see a museum of emperor’s tombs-Hanling Garden.

Han Ling Yuan, also known as the Museum of the Tomb of the Han Guang Ling King, is located in the east of the Shugang Scenic Area of ​​Slender West Lake in Yangzhou.

If you know the history, you will know that King Guangling of the Han Dynasty refers to Liu Xu, the son of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Liu Xu was awarded the title of Guangling and was the first king of Guangling. It is a pity that Emperor Wu always guarded Liu Xu during his lifetime. After Emperor Wu died, Liu Xu prayed to the gods and “blessed and cursed” Emperor Zhao, Emperor Changyi, and Emperor Xuan, and was forced to hang himself after failure.

After Liu Xu’s death, Emperor Han Xuan did not investigate his guilt too much. Because Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty was actually Liu Xu’s grandson, he only gave him the posthumous title of King Li as a punishment, and did not deprive Liu Xu of the tomb level of King Guangling.

Liu Xu’s tomb is the Tianshan Han Tomb, originally located in Tianshan Township, Gaoyou City. The tomb of the queen and the tomb of the king of Guangling Liu Xu were unearthed one after another, and the distance between them was only 50 meters. The two tombs are juxtaposed, and they are the tombs of a married couple in the same tomb in different caves. After the excavation of the Tianshan Han tombs, the unearthed coffins and other cultural relics were relocated to Gaogang, Yangzhou for restoration and display, and the Han Tomb Garden was established, and the Queen’s Tomb was also relocated.

Let me first talk about the city of Yangzhou, it is really beautiful.

From the time when Emperor Yang of Sui built the Grand Canal to watch the Qionghua, the literati poems and songs have been written for the beauty of Yangzhou. It was also the excavation and connection of the Grand Canal in the Sui Dynasty that made Yangzhou the center of the cross of China’s east, west, south and north, and it was once very prosperous.

The long years and profound heritage have brought many precious wealth to Yangzhou.

The Slender West Lake, located in the northern suburbs of Yangzhou, is often regarded as a representative of Yangzhou. And just to the east of Slender West Lake, Hanling Garden stands tall, covering an area of ​​33,000 square meters. From a distance, the entire Hanling Garden has undulating terrain, lush forests and strong buildings. Moreover, it integrates cultural relics and gardens, reflecting the Han culture and human landscape of Yangzhou.

Walking into the Hanling Garden, the flowers bloom just right in the spring. The light pink begonia is like a cloud, dotted in front of the building. The quaint pavilions and splendid flowers set against each other and are very beautiful.

Under the blue sky, Chuisi Begonia stretched freely. Even the air seems to have a somewhat intoxicating fragrance.

The breeze blew across, blowing away the flowers, and raining petals of petals on the stone road. This is the unique tenderness in spring, enough to melt the mind of every passerby.

Li Bai said that the fireworks will go down to Yangzhou in March. He really did not deceive people.

Except for Chuisi Begonia, Magnolia also blooms very well.

Unlike the pink and shyness of Begonia, Magnolia is more like an outspoken female hero. The leaves have not yet grown, but the flowers are already in full bloom. A large, brilliant red flower that is beautifully pressed against the bald branches, with a unique and breathtaking charm.

The Hanling Garden, built on the top of the mountain, is magnificent. Looking up from the steps, it looks like an emperor’s tomb. Going up the stairs, there are Han-style buildings on both sides, with tall and open gates and rustic columns.

Walking into the main exhibition hall, the dome of more than 20 meters is particularly spectacular, and the underground tomb is a coffin. As the king of Guangling, Liu Xu still has a royal demeanor. The tomb in Hanlingyuan is very large, with an area of ​​more than 200 square meters.

In terms of the area of ​​Muzi, the Tianshan Han Tomb is 18 times larger than the Mawangdui Han Tomb in Hunan, and uses the funeral “Huangchang Ticu”, which represents the highest ritual in ancient times.

The so-called yellow bowel inscriptions refers to the special tomb system enjoyed by the emperors and princes of the Western Han Dynasty.

Inside the tomb, there are three-dimensional three-dimensional coffins and two coffins, 13 meters long from north to south, 11 meters long from east to west, and the walls are 4 meters high. The bottom of the coffin is made of nanmu that is more than 10 meters long. The most amazing thing is that the outermost coffin resembles a wall, the inner and outer layers are buckled with nanmu, and the middle is filled with cork. The cork wood is fitted with tenon and riveting, without iron nails, all embedded in a frame, integrated with the entire tomb, and closely connected. This kind of skill, even if you look at it today, is very shocking.

Because the wood faces the inside, the “head” is the “problem”; the “cou” is the “juye”, that is, the head is concentrated and introverted as the “problem”. The burial chamber of Hanling Garden shares more than 800 “Timing” roots, which are extremely precious. Compared with the ten “Yellow Intestines” tombs unearthed across the country, its large materials and strict structure are indeed shocking works, which can be called the best in the world.

And because the cork wood takes the inner core, it is named “Yellow Intestine”, which is the “Yellow Intestine Question Cou”.

According to the etiquette system of the Han Dynasty, the yellow intestine timo, along with the jade clothing, the catalpa palace, the toilet, and the outer coffin, belong to an important part of the emperor’s tomb. On the one hand, the use of “yellow bowel inscriptions” can indicate the identity and status of the owner of the tomb; on the other hand, it is also beneficial to protect the coffin from damage. I really have to admire the wisdom of predecessors.

Inside the coffin of “Yellow Intestines” are ear chambers for burial objects, which are connected and separated one by one. Each ear chamber has a door, and when a person walks in, it is as if he has entered a maze.

Although Liu Xu’s tomb was stolen and excavated on a large scale, a large number of cultural relics, such as silver, bronze, iron, and jade, were still unearthed, about a thousand pieces. Among them, a complete set of copper baths and weapons with hook shields are rare objects. It can be seen that the emperor in ancient times would not give up the opportunity to enjoy the glory and wealth even behind him.

The ladder used to rob the tomb is still in place.

You can see neatly arranged carts and horse sculptures in Hanling Garden. It is hard to imagine that after a thousand years have passed, these sculptures are still well-preserved and lifelike. It is not difficult to see the thick burial style of the Western Han Dynasty and the luxurious and luxurious court life.

There is a famous funerary in the Hanling Garden-a jade garment of gold thread.

The jade garment with golden thread was the highest standard funeral garment in the Han Dynasty, which appeared roughly in the Wenjing period of the Western Han Dynasty. Because people at that time, superstitious jade can keep the bones immortal, and jade is also a noble ritual and status symbol.

During the burial of emperors of the Han Dynasty, “golden jade garments” were used, which looked like a solid armor from the outside, connected by gold wires.

After walking through the Hanling Garden, you only feel that you are closer to Han culture, and closer to the once splendid Yangzhou City. I can’t help feeling that after seeing a lot of beautiful natural scenery, occasionally we have to take a humanities education class like this.

travelling guideline

Address: Yangzhou Hanling Garden, 98 Pingshantang East Road, Hanjiang District, Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province

Traffic reference: Take bus No. 29 and get off at World Animal Window Station and walk 1 km to Yangzhou Hanling Garden

Tickets: 30 yuan for adults, 15 yuan for students and children.

Opening hours: 8:30~17:00

I am Yan Leng

With an interesting soul

I keep walking on the road

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