After the old buildings came down, it was not long before cities along the Three Gorges reservoir, such as Zigui (above and bottom left) and Wanzhou (bottom right), began witnessing the advent of that defining urban trend that swept much of China in the past decade - the property boom. The luxury housing project above (by local standards) is sited just across the dam, offering what the developer touts as an unobstructed lakeside view of the country's biggest engineering marvel.