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Gorges · Relics
OVERVIEW
Vast engineering against the scale of a river
Between Tanziling and the ship locks, engineering, shipping and landform meet at a scale well beyond everyday experience.
“Faced with engineering this large, human scale disappears first, and only then finds a new reference.
— The locks, the dam wall and the viewing platform break one river into three watchable systems: head, navigation and power.
HIGHLIGHTS
The dam from a distance
Establish the proportion between dam, river and mountains from above.
Watching the locks
Understand how vessels cross the difference in water level.
HISTORY
A Project Across a Century
Construction began in December 1994 and the dam was completed in May 2006. The axis runs 2,309 metres, the crest stands at 185 metres, and the normal pool level is 175. The twin five-stage ship locks, started in 1994 and finished in 2003, run 6.4 kilometres and carry vessels through a head of 113 metres — the height of a forty-storey building, and the most stages in continuous series of any inland lock in the world. What the project changed was not only power and navigation but the water level, the shoreline and the settlements along the whole gorge.
GETTING THERE
How to arrive
By bus
From Yichang's central coach station take the 809-2 to the dam interchange, obtain the permit, then transfer to the park shuttle.
By car
Drive to the interchange and take the shuttle in. Entry is free; the shuttle is 35 yuan.
What to see
Tanziling looks down on the dam and the twin locks; the 185 platform stands level with the crest, with the reservoir upstream and the best view of the ship lift downstream.
GOOD TO KNOW
Before you go
Seasonal Guidance
- Spring and autumn balance visibility against comfort
- Flood season makes the change in volume far more visible
Before you visit
- Bring ID for the real-name requirement
- Allow time for security and the shuttle
Grasping the scale
- Take the overview first, then go close to the locks
- Put it on the same route as Xiling Gorge