According to the Chinese Academy of Science, the most disastrous damages caused by Three Gorges Dam are the large scale immigration and the submergence of the large arable lands. The settlement of the immigrants have always been the headache during the construction of large scale dams in China, particularly in the construction of the dams of Sanmenxia, Xinanjiang and Danjiangkou, coz each of them has to immigrate a population of more than 300,000.The large sclae of immigration caused by TGD is unprecedented. Parts of 19 counties will be submerged due to the Three Gorges Project, including PeiLing with a historical culture of more than 1000 years, Wan County and ChongQing. The total population of immigrants has exceeded 1,000,000 and possibly near 1,900,000. The large percentage of urban immigrants as well as the lack of appropriate settlements makes the immigration of TGP harder and much more costly. Most of arable lands in China have been explored due to the large population, hence the majority of immigrants will be settled on the infertile highlands located in the upper reaches of the dam, where have been possessed a surplus population. The resettlement of 1 million populations equals to reestablish a society, which will disorder the original social order, slowing down the economic development in a long run.
Additionally, owing to some historical reasons, the industrial enterprises distribute densely in the small cities and counties along the Yangtze River and they are forced to stop production coz of the TGP (Three Gorges Project). The pause of production will disturb the whole original corresponding system even if the submerged factories will be reestablished in new places, which will have a bad effect to the local economic development.
What’s worse, the particular local couture may not be passed on, such as the folk songs, dialects and local operas.