WUSHAN (Chongqing) - Built on the steep slopes of a mountain along the Yangtze River, Wushan county in central China is a tale of two cities where past and future are separated by a five-minute taxi ride.

The difference between old and new Wushan is even more stark when seen from across the river - a panoramic view of rows upon rows of freshly painted apartment blocks stacked on top of crumbling houses awaiting a watery grave. Old Wushan has been gradually flooded since June 1, when the sluice gates of the Three Gorges Dam were closed, leaving a reservoir that would eventually inundate 29 million sq m of land. Like many counties in the path of the rising water, Wushan has, since 1997, been busy building a modern replacement.

The new city is three times bigger and will be able to house more than 100,000 people, twice the original number. Wushan residents began moving into the new city last year in what appeared to be a neat, straightforward solution.

In truth, the ""vertical migration'' has deeply divided the city's populace, and interviews with residents hint at the growing pains of a new city. For teacher Lu Jun, 37, and many others already living in the new city, the Three Gorges Dam project had been a blessing in disguise. He told The Straits Times: ""What's there to miss about the old city? If not for the Three Gorges Dam project, Wushan officials would never have the money to build a new city like this. Wushan has no particular industry worth developing other than tourism activities related to the Three Gorges, and would probably still be the same old undeveloped county in 20 years if not for the dam.''

Not everyone sees it that way. Though residents like the cleaner living conditions in the new city, many of them said they could not find work and have already used up their relocation compensation - about 10,000 yuan (S$2,100) per person. Business is bad, said grocery store owner Chen Xianju, 46, because residents have little money to spare. She used to rake in profits of about 50,000 yuan a year running four stores in the old town. She now runs only one, which loses about 600 yuan a day. Still, she exudes the kind of optimism that would make any government official proud, and said: ""Overall, I'm still happier with conditions in the new city, though I hope the government can help provide more business opportunities.''

In Gaotang village in Old Wushan, residents are openly hostile towards the relocation exercise and allege that corrupt officials have cheated them of their rightful compensation and siphoned off funds meant for the town. ""When the government takes away our land, they are taking away our guarantee in life,'' said a villager who would only give her name as Gao. Brandishing two letters, she said residents here have filed two official complaints since 2001, but to no success. Some 83,000 of Wushan's population of 583,000 would eventually be relocated.

A resigned He Bangguo, a 44-year-old construction worker, said: ""The country needs to progress and there's no way we can stop it.'' - Published in The Straits Times on 17 June 2003.