Combination photo shows Wanzhou District, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality in 2002 (top, file photo provided by Chongqing Three Gorges Migrants Memorial) and on July 19, 2020 (bottom, photo taken by Huang Wei), respectively.

This year, people living in regions of the Three Gorges Project, the world's largest hydropower project, witnessed a historic achievement in bidding farewell to poverty.

Covering about 10,000 square km, the regions involved in the project are located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, China's longest waterway. With a population of about 30 million, they had been plagued by poverty long before the project was launched.

All of the 19 local districts and counties shook off poverty in May thanks to a series of supportive policies and local government efforts.

Here's a collection of images that offer an alternative perspective on the changes in some of the Three Gorges Project regions before and after the reservoir water storage. 

Combination photo shows Fuling District, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality in 2002 (top, file photo provided by Chongqing Three Gorges Migrants Memorial) and on Aug. 5, 2020 (bottom, photo taken by Huang Wei), respectively.

 

Combination photo shows Kaizhou District, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality in 2002 (top, file photo provided by Chongqing Three Gorges Migrants Memorial) and on Aug. 4, 2020 (bottom, photo taken by Huang Wei), respectively.