Three Gorges Dam's ship lift celebrates third anniversary of trial operations

Three Gorges Dam's ship lift celebrates third anniversary of trial operations

The ship lift at the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest and the final project of the Three Gorges hydropower complex, celebrated its third anniversary of trial operations on September 18.

The ship lift, which serves as a fast-track shipping lane, has handled a total of 8,842 ships, 319,000 passengers, and 2.9 million tons of goods as of September 17 since its operation three years ago.

The ship lift's chamber has a gross weight (water included) of about 15,500 tons, equivalent to the weight of more than 9,000 average sedans. The ship lift has a maximum lifting height of 113 m, almost the height of a 40-story building, and it only takes about 37 minutes for a 3000-ton ship to pass through.

The TGP ship lock and ship lift are important parts of the Three Gorges Project. The former is responsible for the navigation of large cargo and passenger ships while the latter serves as the fast-track passage for cargo and passenger ships as well as special vessels.