The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River

The Three Gorges Project officially commenced on December 14, 1994, and the main body of the Three Gorges Dam was completed on May 20, 2006. The project was finished in October 2008, and on November 1, 2020, the Ministry of Water Resources and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly announced that the Three Gorges Project had completed all the procedures for overall completion acceptance, marking the full completion of the construction tasks of the Three Gorges Project. Three Gorges Dam Tourist Area The Three Gorges Project consists of three main parts: the river-blocking dam, the hydropower station, and the navigation structures. The dam spans 2309 meters in length, with a crest elevation of 185 meters and a normal storage level of 175 meters. It controls a catchment area of 1.8 million square kilometers, with a total reservoir capacity of 39.3 billion cubic meters and a flood control capacity of 22.15 billion cubic meters, equivalent to the capacity of four flood diversion areas; the hydropower station is equipped with 34 turbine generator units, with a total installed capacity of 22.5 million kilowatts and an average annual power generation of 88.2 billion kilowatt-hours; the navigation structures include a five-stage ship lock that can accommodate fleets of up to 50,000 tons, and a ship lift that can quickly transport passenger and cargo vessels of up to 3000 tons.