In 1957, a meeting discussed a dam at Sanmenxia on the Yellow River. According to a 2000 account by the writer Zhao Cheng, “only Huang Wanli firmly opposed building a dam at Sanmenxia.” Most of those present said nothing.
The dam was built. According to the same account, in September 1960, the reservoir began to store water. Silt built up behind it and raised the riverbed at Tongguan by 4.5 meters. From 1965, the dam was rebuilt, with openings cut through it to flush out the silt.