Three Gorges Dam Ship Lift - World’s Largest and Most Sophisticated Ship Lift

Notice: 1) During the peak season, the Ship Lift activity has been in full swing. Demand exceeds supply, so a large crowd of people from different ships will be on the boat. In more extreme cases, you may not be able to get a seat but stand. It is recommended to carefully consider joining the program if you are concerned about the impact of a large number of tourists on your experience. 2) If you are really excited about this project and expect a comparatively nice experience, the project’s ship offers VIP private boxes and VIP areas. In normal circumstances, if you require VIP service, you should inform the Ship Lift staff of your needs and pay the fee accordingly when boarding their cruise ship. VIP seats and cabins are limited, and late boarding guests may not be able to book a VIP service if they encounter the peak season. 3) The Yangzi Explorer and Yangtze 1 luxury cruise ships are able to transit through the ship lift directly, allowing passengers to enjoy the experience from their cabin balconies or the ship’s top viewing deck.

Three Gorges Dam Ship Lift, also called Three Gorges Dam Ship Elevator, is not only the largest but also the most sophisticated ship lift in the world.

The vertical-hoisting “elevator” can lift cruises/vessels up or down 370 feet (about 113 meters) to pass Three Gorges Dam across Yangtze River in Hubei Province;

550-feet-high (about 169 meters) structure can lift cruises/vessels carrying weight of up to 3,000 tonnes;

The elevator cuts down the time it takes to pass the dam to around 40 minutes compared to the four hours it takes to pass via the Five-stage Ship Lock.

2025 Arrangement of Three Gorges Dam Ship Lift Experience

At present, only the Yangzi Explorer and Yangtze 1 luxury cruise ships can pass through the ship lift directly at no additional cost.

Passengers on other cruise ships need to transfer to smaller sightseeing boats to experience the ship lift, requiring an extra fee of approximately CNY 290/pp.

Travelers will board the "Yangtze Three Gorges" luxury sightseeing boat to enjoy the thrilling vertical ascent of the ship. The main embarkation and disembarkation points are Maoping Port and Sandouping Port (only for your reference).

Cruise companies typically schedule the ship lift experience prior to visiting the Three Gorges Dam scenic area. The duration from boarding the sightseeing boat to disembarking ranges from 1.5 to 2 hours.

Chongqing-Yichang Downstream Cruise (Day 4)

• For those on downstream cruises who skip the ship lift, their day trip concludes around 12:30 PM at the Three Gorges Visitor Center in Yichang city center, following the dam tour.
• In contrast, the day ends between 1:30 PM and 2:00 PM for passengers who participate in the ship lift experience.

Yichang-Chongqing Upstream Cruise (Day 2)

• On that day, the cruise ship will remain docked at Maoping Port in Yichang. The cruise company will organize a tour of the Three Gorges Dam and a ship lift experience, either in the morning or afternoon. Once the tour is over, passengers will be escorted back to the cruise ship.

How Yangtze Cruise Performs Ship Lift in Details?

Travelers can experience ship lift at Three Gorges Dam with all the Yangtze River cruise ships no matter you take 4 Days & 3 Nights downstream cruise from Chongqing to Yichang or 5 Days & 4 Nights upstream cruise from Yichang to Chongqing. The following is Victoria Cruises’ detailed arrangement to sail through Ship Lift. You may check it for reference. (Please note that the time arrangement of different cruise companies may vary based on the real situation, but experience will be the same.)

For downstream travelers:

Your ship will dock at Maoping Port on the last day of your downstream cruise. You’ll change onto a sightseeing boat sailing down to Three Gorges Dam Site to pass through the Ship Lift (optional experience for extra pay). When the sightseeing boat comes out the ship chamber, it will continue sailing to the lower part of Yangtze River and usually docks at Sandouping Port. Here, you’ll change to a sightseeing bus heading to Three Gorges Dam Site for further sightseeing. After the dam visiting, the cruise company will provide transfer service sending you to Yichang Three Gorges Center Cruise Terminal (near Yichang No. 9 pier which is across from Wanda Plaza; about 50 km for 1~1.5 hours’ bus ride). You will arrive in Yichang downtown area around 13:30.
(Note: We advise you take a train after 15:30 and take a flight after 16:00).

For upstream travelers:

For travelers who take an upstream cruise from Yichang to Chongqing, you should arrive at Yichang Three Gorges Center Cruise Terminal or Yichang East Railway Station during 16:00~21:00 on the first day and take the bus arranged by the cruise companies heading to Maoping Port (about 50 km for 1~1.5 hours’ bus ride) for embarkation. On the second day after lunch around 13:30, you’ll first get on a sightseeing boat at Maoping Port to enjoy the ship lift experience. After getting off at Sandouping port, you will be transfer to continue today's shore excursions to the Three Gorges Dam Site. Tonight, you are expected to be back on board between 5 and 6 PM.

What are the Differences between Ship Lift and Ship Lock?

The maximum difference between the upstream and downstream water level is 113 meters. Now, shipping traffic can not only pass the dam by means of a two-lane, five chamber lock chain, but also by the vertical ship lift.

There is a saying: “Ship lock for large vessels and ship lift for small vessels”. Ship locks were like stairs. Walking up or down stairs is certainly much slower than taking the lift. That’s to say, large-sized vessels need to spend about 4 hours passing through the dam’s five lock while mostly small and medium-sized vessels, with a dead weight under 3000 tonnes, can get across the dam by ship lift in 40 minutes.

Apart from faster speed, the ship lift is also safer. It could be dangerous if the ship catches fire in ship locks. But on the lift, with its open space, the chance for such a situation developing is much smaller.

Three Gorges Dam Ship Locks Travel Tips in 2025: as the national policy of “the Belt and Road” to develop the economy of the Yangtze River region, the Three Gorges Dam ship locks is only accessible for cargo ships and a handful of long-line luxury cruises that have applied in advance, for instance, Century Legend and Yangtze 2. More detailed infomation about the Ship Lock >>

How Does Ship Lift Work?

Sightseeing Boat to Sail through Three Gorges Dam Ship lift

When a ship heads upstream (for travelers, it usually means pass through Three Gorges Dam from Yichang to Chongqing), first, it has to enter the ship chamber from the lower gate, then the lower gate is closed and the ship chamber ascends through climbing device. When the water level in the ship chamber is the same with that of upper part of the reservoir, the upper gate is opened and the ship can sail into upper bay. If a ship heads downstream (for travelers, it usually means pass through Three Gorges Dam from Chongqing to Yichang), the procedure is just opposite.

More Facts and Diagrammatic Explanation about Three Gorges Dam Ship Lift Structure

Designed according to German industrial standards, Three Gorges Dam Ship Lift is the last component in the Three Gorges Dam complex and mainly consists of an upper bay, an upper gate, a ship chamber, a lower gate and a lower bay. With a lifting height of up to 113 meters, internal dimensions of 120×18×3.5m (useable space) and moving mass of approx. 34000 tonnes, the vertical ship lift is the largest of its kind in the world.

Vertical Section of Three Gorges Dam Ship lift

Horizontal Section of Three Gorges Dam Ship lift

The main components of the structure are four 169m high reinforced concrete towers. The four towers are built on a continuous foundation slab, directly on granite rock. Between the towers the steel ship chamber, which is 132m long, is suspended from 256 ropes that are connected with counterweights via 128 double rope pulleys at the tops of the towers. Each pair of towers on the long sides of the ship chamber is flanked by shear walls. The walls and towers are connected by coupling beams distributed evenly over the height. Two bridges between the towers are located above the ship chamber, one for the central control room and one for a visitor platform.

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