CHINA 5A TRAVEL
The world's largest hydro-engineering work — a 2,309-metre concrete wall across the Yangtze with five-stage ship locks, a vertical ship lift for 3,000-tonne vessels, and observation decks at the 185-metre line where the river that made China is remade.
The Three Gorges Dam at Sandouping, Yichang, is the largest water-control project ever built: a 2,309-metre-long, 185-metre-tall gravity dam holding back a 600-km reservoir, generating more electricity than any other station on Earth. The tourist area — 15.28 square kilometres opened in 1997 and rated first-batch 5A in 2007 — visits it as engineering spectacle.
The circuit links three zones on a fixed guided route: Tanziling Hill (the viewpoint mound with the dam model and the overlook of the whole works), the 185 Platform (level with the dam crest, where ships lock through at eye line) and the River Closure Memorial Park (downstream, where the 1997 diversion-stone drama played out, now the internal transport hub with performances).
The show-piece moments are the spillway in flood season — the thundering discharge — and the slow, step-by-step passage of a 10,000-tonne fleet through the twin five-stage locks (three to four hours, watched from above), or the new vertical ship lift that takes 3,000-tonne vessels up in forty minutes. Visits run half a day; Yangtze cruise passengers see it all from the water.
Highlights
Tanziling Overlook
The hilltop panorama of the whole dam, locks and ship lift in one frame.
185 Platform
Eye-level with the dam crest at the 185-metre watermark — the closest public point to the wall.
Five-Stage Ship Locks
Ships climbing or descending five lock chambers — watch a fleet thread the largest staircase ever cut.
Vertical Ship Lift
The 3,000-tonne elevator that lifts whole vessels the dam's height in ~40 minutes.
Spillway Discharge
In flood season, the release gates open — the park's most thunderous show.
Closure Memorial Park
Below the dam: the 1997 river-closing story told in stone, plus performances and transport hub.
Photo Gallery
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