With the closing of the sluice gates of the Three Gorges dam, another 25,000 rural residents living in the reservoir areas embarked on their relocation journey to other provinces.

Ou Huishu, vice director of the Immigration Bureau in Chongqing Municipality, said the 25,000 rural residents from southwest China's Chongqing and central Hubei Province will settle in 11 comparatively well-developed regions, including Shanghai Municipality, and Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and Shandong provinces.

About 72,000 farmers have relocated to these areas over the past three years, ensuring the Three Gorges reservoir could be filled on schedule.

A total of 1.3 million people must be displaced to make way forthe world's largest hydraulic project, which is due to be completed in 2009. Many only need to move to adjacent highlands, not necessary to leave their hometowns, while the rest have to relocate far away to other provinces or other parts of the same province.

The latest statistics show that by the end of last year, nearly 140,000 people had been relocated, 70,000 of which built new residences in other provinces.

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