Shipping throughput of Three Gorges Dam hits record high

BEIJING, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- The shipping throughput via the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydropower project on the upper stream of the Yangtze River, reached a record high of 174 million tonnes in 2023, official data showed Sunday.

The figure marks an 8.77 percent increase from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Transport.

The dam's ship locks had a throughput of 169 million tonnes, while the dam's ship lift had a throughput of nearly 4.79 million tonnes.

Throughout the year, 574,100 tonnes of key materials have been transported via the dam, and over 2.2 million tourist trips were made at the site, according to the ministry.

The Three Gorges project is a multi-functional water-control system, consisting of a dam measuring 2,309 meters long and 185 meters high, five-tier ship locks on the north and south sides, and 34 turbo-generators with a combined power generating capacity of 22.5 million kilowatts.