Yangtze River Travel Guide

Three Gorges Dam

Observation Station Statue

The construction of the Three Gorges Dam, at over 600 ft (180 m) high and more than a mile (2 km) across, was intended to provide a significant amount of China’s energy, curb the Yangzi’s tendency to flood, and channel some of the country’s wealth, for long concentrated along the coastal regions, into China’s heartland. However, creating a 400-mile (645-km) long reservoir has also meant the relocation of many thousands of people, the obliteration of important cultural sites, and long-term environmental damage.

Three Gorges Dam seen from
the low-water side

Visitors' checklist

• Sandouping, 22 miles (35 km) W of Yichang
• CITS, 72 Yiling Dajie, 0717 622 0848
• 4 from Yichang train station or hire a minibus or taxi for a couple of hours
• Visitor Center: daily

Jar Hill Observation Platform
This highpoint provides an excellent bird's eye view of the dam as well as a museum showing the history of the construction.

The Yangzi River at sun set, winding
its way through the Three Gorges

5-Level Double Ship Lock
At over a mile long (1600 m) this lock can raise or lower ships a total vertical distance of 370 ft (113 m) and is, not surprisingly, the largest lock system in the world. It takes nearly three hours to pass through the lock gates.

Please click here to read more information about the Three Gorges Dam.

For more details, please visit China Tours and China Travel Information.

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