China recently blew up the protective cofferdam that was used as a temporary structure while the Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydroelectric dam in the world, was being built. The event was shown live on television in China. The nearly mile-and-a-half-long dam now holds back the Yangtze River (the world's third largest), which has had a history of deadly flooding. Approximately 1.3 million people had to be relocated to make way for the dam and its reservoir. Before demolishing the cofferdam - using more than 190 tons of dynamite - marine life was expelled from the area using high-pressure electric-pulsing machines. The dam will begin power-generation in two years; it is expected to produce 22.4 million kilowatts of electricity daily. Above is an artist's rendering of the completed project.