The Chinese government has given billions of yuan in "relocation funds" to towns and cities behind the Three Gorges Dam to help prop up their economy. No one's counting on this largess to last forever, though the question of economic sustainability and survival is one that has few good answers in this part of China. Many of these river towns and cities, like Dachang as pictured here, are hoping that the tourism industry would be their economic lifeline. The problem, however, is that the ancient temples, cultural relics, and historic buildings of interest have mostly been demolished or submerged under the jade-green waters of the Yangtze. Dachang, about 30-minutes by speedboat from Wushan, sought to address this problem by claiming to have "recreated" the heart of its old city brick by brick, tile by tile in the eastern corner of its new location. But the sanitised version on display has thus far disappointed tourists. To a man, they remarked that the bland attraction looked "fake", and said they were unlikely to return for another visit. [Oct 15 2008.]
