Three Gorges Dam ship locks log record monthly cargo throughput

This aerial photo taken on Sept. 4, 2023 shows ships passing through the five-tier ship locks of the Three Gorges Dam in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province. The monthly cargo throughput via the five-tier ship locks at the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydropower project in the upper stream of the Yangtze, reached a record high of over 15.71 million tonnes in August, according to the China Three Gorges Corporation. (Photo by Zheng Jiayu/Xinhua)

WUHAN, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The monthly cargo throughput via the five-tier ship locks at the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydropower project in the upper stream of the Yangtze, reached a record high of over 15.71 million tonnes in August, according to the China Three Gorges Corporation.

China's longest river, the Yangtze is an east-west inland waterway, and it is regarded as the country's "golden shipping route."

During August, the ship locks operated 965 times and saw the passing of 3,737 vessels, according to the corporation.

The Three Gorges project is a multi-functional water-control system, consisting of a 2,309-meter-long and 185-meter-high dam, 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.

Since the ship locks opened to trial navigation in June 2003, the volume of freight passing through them has increased rapidly.

This aerial photo taken on Aug. 23, 2023 shows ships passing through the five-tier ship locks of the Three Gorges Dam in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province. The monthly cargo throughput via the five-tier ship locks at the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydropower project in the upper stream of the Yangtze, reached a record high of over 15.71 million tonnes in August, according to the China Three Gorges Corporation. (Photo by Zheng Jiayu/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on Sept. 4, 2023 shows ships sailing at the Zigui Harbor in Zigui County of Yichang, central China's Hubei Province. The monthly cargo throughput via the five-tier ship locks at the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydropower project in the upper stream of the Yangtze, reached a record high of over 15.71 million tonnes in August, according to the China Three Gorges Corporation. (Photo by Zheng Jiayu/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on Aug. 27, 2023 shows ships passing through the five-tier ship locks of the Three Gorges Dam in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province. The monthly cargo throughput via the five-tier ship locks at the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydropower project in the upper stream of the Yangtze, reached a record high of over 15.71 million tonnes in August, according to the China Three Gorges Corporation. (Photo by Zheng Jiayu/Xinhua)