Life behind the Three Gorges Dam

"The people have too high an expectation on us. But we're only the implementing body, not the decision-makers . . . Efforts must be made to educate the people to not lose the tradition of self-reliance," said Huang Bin, deputy town chief in charge of resettlement affairs.

Ultimately, he believes, most local residents must be moved again, even to other provinces, to expand their space of survival and protect nature in the vulnerable reservoir area.

Xiang agrees. "Going to higher ground to toil the land and build towns and villages has intensified work erosion and jeopardized the geological structure," he said.

'Immense sacrifice'

Back in Xiangjiadian, the 19-year-old house of Li Yuxiu, 60, which is on the 177-meter line, is fast crumbling. She and her husband, Wu Chengqiang, had to move out and seek shelter in a self-made shanty.

A meter above Li's crumbling house, Huan Gang, 27, has stayed on with his mother. Their house, too, is falling apart. "I don't know if this has anything to do with the dam. What I do know is this has been happening since the old county proper went underwater," Huan said.

Li's and Huan's families are candidates for the next round of resettlement. No schedule or plan has been fixed.

In a 2009 visit to resettled families in Chongqing, Vice-Premier Li Keqiang said the resettled residents "made immense sacrifice for the construction of the Three Gorges project", said a report by Xinhua News Agency.

"The Party and the State will never forget the contributions you made. We're bound to help you resettle well, find jobs, and get rich step by step," he told a group of resettled families.

-China Daily/Asia News Network