Testing begins on world's largest shiplift on China's Yangtze River

YICHANG, Nov. 4 -- The world's largest shiplift is being tested at the Three Gorges Dam in central China's Hubei Province and will enter service in late December, the China Three Gorges Corp. said on Wednesday.

According to the company, the Three Gorges shiplift is the most sophisticated in the world.

The vertical-hoisting elevator is designed to lift ships as heavy as 3,000 tonnes. Its upstream navigable water level range is 30 meters, and its downstream range is 11.8 meters.

The shiplift will cut journey times for passenger and small cargo ships passing through the dam from over three hours to less than an hour.