The Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydro-electric power station, is one of the greatest infrastructure projects of modern times. Building it displaced many hundreds of thousands of people, and transformed the environment in a key part of China. Dr Brooke Wilmsen (Social Enquiry, La Trobe University) talks to Professor Nick Bisley (Executive Director, La Trobe Asia) about the impact of the dam on the lives of people in the region, what it tells us about China's modernisation, and the kind of social challenges faced by a rapidly industrialising society.