Exploring China's Sichuan province (24 images)

Ships and their crew work on the Yangtze River, Sichuan Province, August 30, 2010. The Yangtze River has become a major artery and engine for the growth of Central and Western China due to the Three Gorges Dam. UPI/Stephen Shaver

Chinese set up their poultry stalls at the opening of a massive food wet market in Chongqing, Sichuan Province, August 30, 2010. China has ordered local leaders to cool a surge in politically sensitive food prices by raising vegetable production amid rising tensions over surging food costs. UPI/Stephen Shaver

Chinese perform a traditional ceremony to honor the deaths of relatives by burning candles and paper money on the banks of a swollen Yangtze River in Chongqing August 30, 2010. Flooding from torrential summer rains, which has killed at least 700 people and displaced millions, is the worst China has suffered in more than a decade. UPI/Stephen Shaver

Heavy pollution hangs over central Chongqing, Sichuan Province, August 30, 2010. Despite the country's major investment in clean energy, heavy pollution still remains a problem in China's major cities. UPI/Stephen