It wasn’t just a hydropower project, though. Chinese Premier Li Qiang called it a “project of the century,” as he stood alongside high-ranking officials to announce the construction of the 1.2 trillion yuan (about $168 billion) infrastructure project along the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo river in July. The state-run Xinhua News Agency hailed the world’s biggest planned hydropower dam as a “low-carbon development … a safe project that prioritizes ecological protection.”

When Wen visited the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon in the spring of 2025, the independent Chinese ecologist saw numerous heavy trucks loaded with construction materials along Medog county in the southeastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Only a single, narrow road connected the county seat and townships, and locals believed the roads were being paved just as the central government was ramping up plans to build a hydropower plant.

When Wen visited the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon in the spring of 2025, the independent Chinese ecologist saw numerous heavy trucks loaded with construction materials along Medog county in the southeastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Only a single, narrow road connected the county seat and townships, and locals believed the roads were being paved just as the central government was ramping up plans to build a hydropower plant.

It wasn’t just a hydropower project, though. Chinese Premier Li Qiang called it a “project of the century,” as he stood alongside high-ranking officials to announce the construction of the 1.2 trillion yuan (about $168 billion) infrastructure project along the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo river in July. The state-run Xinhua News Agency hailed the world’s biggest planned hydropower dam as a “low-carbon development … a safe project that prioritizes ecological protection.”

But the sheer scale of the dam carries immediate and long-lasting consequences for planetary health. Environmentalists say the Yarlung Tsangpo creates unique hydrothermal conditions when it collides with the eastern Himalayas, resulting in the world’s northernmost tropical rainforest, home to diverse large cats and ungulates, as well as some of