The Three Gorges Dam is officially in business. The 1.3 million people who had to evacuate their homes to make way for the dam might not be quite as thrilled as the Chinese government, which has long been touting the Three Gorges as the world’s biggest dam project and a symbol of China’s modernization (this despite the fact that the very concept of dams–with their enormous environmental impact–is being rethought throughout the world, including here at home).

My novel, Dream of the Blue Room, was inspired by the Three Gorges Dam. The novel is set on a cruise up the Yangtze River during the dam’s construction.