Nearly 22,000 dams over 15 metres (49 ft) in height – about half the world's total – have been constructed in China since the 1950s.
Many of the tallest are located in the southwestern part of the country (Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan) on rivers such as the Mekong, the Yangtze, and its upper stretch (Jinsha River) and tributaries (Yalong, Dadu, Min and Wu).
The Yellow River in the western part of the country also hosts several among the tallest.
Purposes for these high structures include flood control, irrigation and, predominantly, hydroelectric power.
[1] Currently, the country's and world's tallest, Jinping-I Dam, an arch dam 305 m (1,001 ft) high, is located in Sichuan.