Quick Check-In At Baihe Reservoir

Full scene at the downstream face of the dam yesterday: there are only a few visible changes since last time I was here, the most obvious being that the water flow out from the irrigation channel is much higher since the recent rains. The concrete walls for the new sluiceway are still separated from the tunnel mouth as work continues inside there.

The main visible development is that the shoulder adjacent to the tunnel mouth is now partially covered by boulder rip-rap; the white bags surmounting this are most likely cement mix that must be kept dry prior to its' application.

The dam crest and spillway gates.

Female golden orb spider (nephila pilipes) in the process of determining that a fallen leaf is not actually a food source.

Extreme sexual dimorphism: the tiny orange spider sitting astride the abdomen of the larger spider is actually the male of the species, most likely attempting to mate with the female. 

Not the end of the road, a section in which the tarmac had been washed away. This was at the northwest end of the reservoir and I was following google maps to see if I could get a hirtherto undiscovered view from the north-west. As I have found so many times elsewhere however, I found that the google map image is not accurate; beyond this point the road breaks out into a number of trails used by the bamboo farmers that aren't represented on the map. I spent about an hour walking uphill and downhill through the bush until I ran out of time and was left frustrated and riddled with insect bites.

Looking west into the setting sun: a farmer in his flooded rice paddies.

Looking east back to the mountains that overlook Baihe reservoir.