China is one of the largest countries in the world and also one of the oldest civilizations. It has many treasures, historical, cultural and religious. UNESCO has awarded it many World Heritage Sites but also some of its civil engineering projects are almost at the height of its ancient and beautiful pagodas or imperial palaces.
This is the case of Three Gorges Dam, a fabulous dam built on the bed of the Yangtze River, the main artery of Chinese civilization. The dam has two power generation stations and the entire project took 17 years to complete. There were three stages, from 1992 to 1997, from 1998 to 2003 and from that year to 2009. Step by step, little by little, this tremendous civil engineering masterpiece China took shape.
Fortunately, to know its wonderful history the authorities allow today tourists visit the Three Gorges Dam.
Brief history of the Three Gorges Dam
The Yangtze River has always been important and that is why controlling its course and the flow of its floods was a matter of State.. Modern engineering made it possible to shape an ambitious project that has achieved that goal. The first stage in the construction of this Chinese dam lasted five years and the second lasted six. The well, the canal, the framework of the dam, the ports and the navigation channels began to appear in those years. The hydroelectric power generation station as well and the rest of the machinery and endpoints on the dam took shape in the third and final stage. The water reservoir too, a fabulous pond that is one of the largest in the world.
The construction of the dam generated controversy due to its size and its economic and environmental cost.. Among the points in favor are flood control, power generation, useful in a developing country, tourism, and river navigation facilities. Among the problems caused by the dam are the sedimentation of the river, environmental problems, the migration of workers and the loss of the natural landscape of the area. Why? The rise in the water level, in some parts, affects certain landscapes or cultural relics so many have been moved, although others have remained even further away from tourism.
There is no agreement on how much was lost or gained in this field, but today the general idea is that while some landscapes have been lost, others no less attractive have been gained.
Characteristics of the Three Gorges Dam
The dam is located in Hubei province, in Yichang city. It is the largest hydroelectric power dam in the world and generates 84.7 billion kilowatt hours. The complex is made up of the dam, a system of closures or gates and the power generation plant. The dam is 2300 meters long and 115 meters wide and can hold up to 39.3 billion cubic meters of water.
Its huge 1000-square-kilometer reservoir helps control the Yantzé floods and is also part of a wonderful new landscape.
Visit the Three Gorges Dam
The Scenic Area of the Three Gorges Dam is the destination of tourists. It is a large space of 15 square kilometers composed of a special exhibition on the project, the Risco Tanzi, Platform 185, the Panoramic Point of the Dam and the Memorial Garden.
The Risco Tanzi is located at an altitude of almost 270 meters and is undoubtedly the best place to have a complete panorama of the dam. It is shaped like a frog, so much in Chinese it means just that. It has three floors, each at different heights, and you can see soil strata of different antiquities, from the ground of the river bed onwards.
Platform 185 is another good place to see the dam. It is at that height, which is the equivalent of the height of the dam. Another site is the Scenic Point of the Dam itself and from there you can see when the gates are opened and water is evacuated to unimaginable quantities. This usually takes place in the flood period, between July and August, so if you go for those dates you may see that wonder in action: 36 thousand cubic meters of water per second coming out in nine 50-meter long jets, which which forms a humid mist that envelops everything.
Cruises to see the Three Gorges Dam
There are sightseeing cruises on the Yangtze River that visit the dam. There are them of different categories and prices and they are a good option to know it. There are cruises from one week to ten days that touch various cities such as Chongqing, Yichang, Shanghai, Guilin, Hong Kong, Xian, Beijing, and so on. You can join multiple sightseeing tours to the cruise ship and kill multiple birds with one stone. In general there are four cruise routes:
- from Chongqing to Yichang, downstream. It's three nights and four days.
- from Yichang to Chongqing, upriver. It's four nights and five days.
- from Chongqing to Shanghai, downstream. It takes six nights and seven days.
- from Shanghai to Chongqing, upriver. It takes eight nights and nine days.
If you are not going to do a cruise and you want to just go do the tourist visit to the dam then you can go Yichang city. There are many tourist buses that take you to the place at all times of the day. The price is 105 yuan per adult to enter and includes transportation on the minibus that takes you to the tourist area and leaves every 20 minutes.
And taking advantage of the fact that you are in the area you can add other attractions. Remember that the name of the dam is Three Gorges Dam So we have the gorges or canyons themselves to know: the Xiling Canyon, the Wu and the Qutang, the most beautiful parts of the entire Yangtze River. There is also the Sturgeon Museum, a site dedicated to the preservation of the Chinese sturgeons that live in this river, and the Huangling Temple, one of the oldest in the area with more than 2500 years.