Liu suggested that it is better to preserve at least 50 percent of the river course, instead of creating a cascade development, which sees a flowing river fed into one reservoir after another.

This was recognized in a notice by the Ministry of Environmental Protection in September, he added, as there have already been seven cascades built on Dadu River. Shuangjiangkou is on the fifth.

In addition to influencing the river, the project will also affect, or completely submerge, six national-level nature reserves and the Dadu River Valley National Geopark, said Chen Gang, a senior engineer for Guodian, in an article published in Hydro power magazine.

Meanwhile, a government official in Sichuan's Hanyuan county, who asked not to be identified, said the Dadu River would be unrecognizable from the waterway he remembers from his youth.

"The naturally turbulent flow of the river will be gone forever," he said.

"Although I know hydropower development is important for the government’s energy strategy, it is still such a shame when mountains and rivers disappear.

"My son will never witness that natural beauty," he said, remarking that the banks of the river - the largest tributary of the Yangtze River - are now largely construction sites.

To help the project pass the assessment, Guodian pledged several measures to prevent or reduce any negative impact.

A 60-km unexploited river course from Jinba to Danba would be preserved for fish habitat, for instance, according to information in the report disclosed on the ministry's website.

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