ＡＮＴＨＲＯＰＯＬＯＧＩＳＴＳ　ＡＲＥ　ＩＮＶＯＬＶＥＤ　ＩＮ　ＴＨＥ　ＴＨＲＥＥ　ＧＯＲＧＥＳ　Ｐ.docVIP

ＡＮＴＨＲＯＰＯＬＯＧＩＳＴＳ　ＡＲＥ　ＩＮＶＯＬＶＥＤ　ＩＮ　ＴＨＥ　ＴＨＲＥＥ　ＧＯＲＧＥＳ　Ｐ 　　――A field study on the fate of ethnic life and culture under the largest water conservancy project in the world 　　 　　This might be the largest reservoir-flooded area in the world. China’s Three Gorges project is the largest hydropower project in the world to date. How much protection will be exercised over the relics to be submerged? Reliable information indicates that the Chinese Government has spent hundreds of millions of yuan in solving this problem. 　　 But now what we care about are these issues: Minority ethnic groups in this area will be flooded. Has their way of life been given attention? Will their folk customs and relics be protected? The protection of the traditional culture of minorities will reflect the care and concern of the Chinese Government over the culture of ethnic groups. 　　 The Cultural Relics Protection Planning and Design Group of the Three Gorges Project Area has designed the research projects that involve multidisciplinary collaboration, including anthropology. Projects related to anthropology have been properly included in the plan of ethnic folk customs and relics protection. This is the first plan in China designed to protect the ethnic folk customs and relics for a large engineering project. 　　 Professor Zhuang Kongshao, who returned from a post-doctoral research in the University of Washington at Seattle in the United States, was in charge of the project during 1995 to 1998, and is working on some other applied research projects now, said: “Anthropologists have been really involved in the emergency research over the cultural heritage at the Three Gorges of Yangtze River... This represents an important effort of the Chinese anthropologists and cultural relics protection planners in publicizing the latest knowledge concerning the protection of the world cultural heritage. ” 　　 China’s Three Gorges project has attracted attention of the world. The project will last 18 years, and