Three Gorges Dam

The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze is the place to weigh what a project of this size costs as well as what it produces. More than a million people were relocated as the reservoir rose and towns and villages went under water, and that history belongs in any honest visit. The tourist area near Yichang is built around viewpoints rather than tours inside the structure. An escalator climbs Tanziling to a panorama of the dam and its five-step ship locks, and the 185 Platform, level with the dam's crest, is a separate stop on the site's shuttle. Come for the overview and the locks, and read up on the relocation before you go so you see the whole picture.