The open day of the Three Gorges Dam

The world's largest hydropower project, the Three Gorges Dam, opened its doors on Saturday to welcome the public for a visit to illustrate its achievements in producing clean energy, preventing floods and ecological conservation. 

Engineers and experts said that though the dam faced a harsh flood test last year, this summer it is expected to go through a more steady rainy season, and the dam is fully prepared for any circumstances.

On its first opening day activity, the Three Gorges Dam welcomed more than 160 guests, including experts, and representatives from companies, as well as Three Gorges migrants who were relocated because of the dam construction. 

The open day of the Three Gorges Dam

The open day was co-hosted by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, the Ministry of Water Resources and the China Three Gorges Corporation.

The dam is by far the largest water conservancy and hydropower project in the world. In 2020, the Three Gorges Dam set a new world record by generating 111.8 billion kwh of clean energy, breaking the previous record set by the Itaipu Dam of Brazil and Paraguay in 2016.

The dam has also changed the flood control situation in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and improved the flood control and water resources management of the Yangtze River.

The open day of the Three Gorges Dam

In 2020, the Yangtze River encountered several rounds of heavy floods. The Three Gorges project, together with several cascade reservoirs, successfully prevented a total of 38.8 billion cubic meters of floods, accounting for more than 60 percent of the total floods prevented in the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze.

According to climate predictions, this year will be a relatively steady and normal year for the Three Gorges Dam, and there may even be a drought in downstream areas of the Yangtze River, Wang Hai, director of the reservoir management department of the river basin management center under the China Three Gorges Corporation, told the Global Times on Saturday.

The open day of the Three Gorges Dam

Last year, due to the extreme climate conditions, the flood in the Yangtze River were a test for the Three Gorges Dam, Wang said. "But the project is designed to prevent a huge flood that happens once a century. The flood last year was a once-in-forty-years level, not enough to pose a risk for the Three Gorges Dam," Wang said.

Some Tibetan students at China Three Gorges University majoring in water conservancy were also among the visitors on Saturday open day. Their studies are supported by the university, the China Three Gorges Corporation and Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. After graduating, the students are expected to make contributions to the hydropower exploitation work in Tibet, the Global Times learned.

Visitors also learned about ecological conservation work by the Three Gorges Corporation at the Three Gorges Corp Yangtze River Rare Fish Conservation Center and the Institute for the Rare Plants of the Yangtze River.

Inside the power plant of the Three Gorges Dam Photo: Shan Jie/GT

The top of the Three Gorges Dam is open to the public for the first time on Saturday's open day. Photo: Pang Yue/GT

Visitors at the Three Gorges Corp Yangtze River Rare Fish Conservation Center Photo: Shan Jie/GT

A research fellow checks seedlings at the Institute for the Rare Plants of the Yangtze River. Photo: Shan Jie/GT

Fan Dehua, a farmer from Chongqing Municipality who relocated his home because of the construction of the Three Gorges project, visits the dam for the first time on Saturday.