Contributions were made by Haohsiang Ko, Chris Campbell, and Annalee Mather.
The proposed tunnel system for the hydropower dam remains largely conceptual, as official design plans have not yet been disclosed. The depicted route is an approximation but aligns with the expected elevation changes outlined in the facility’s initial proposals.
Environmental geographer Mehebub Sahana from Manchester University and Ye Huang, a researcher at Global Energy Monitor, have analyzed potential sites for the facility. They have also scrutinized satellite images to assess if recent construction efforts are associated with the project.
The imagery of major infrastructure projects, featured at the beginning of the article, is credited in order of appearance to the following sources: China News Service/Getty Images; CFOTO/Sipa USA; Xinhua/Shutterstock; CFOTO/Sipa USA; Reuters; Xinhua/Shutterstock; CFOTO/Sipa USA; and CHINE NOUVELLE/SIPA/Shutterstock. Videos from Xinjiang ski resorts were obtained from China’s Xiaohongshu social media platform.
