A memorable adventure
On 2 November 2022 I landed in Chongqing to start my journey for the shooting of the movie “The New 3 Gorges”. I was the only foreigner in a group of over 50 experts, scholars and media personnel as well as several journalists. Also part were the many cameramen and the drone operator. It took 12 days, we traveled more than 3,000 kilometers along the Yangtze River from Chongqing to the Three Gorges Dam, and visited more than a dozen districts and counties, and more than 40 tourist attractions. Every day we needed to fill out a detailed report to evaluate the tourist sites we visited. Journeys were long and exhausting!
My official title: “Discovering the New Three Gorges”. Tourism Mission Leader and Expert GILBERT VAN KERCKHOVE Nationality: Belgium, Work Unit: International Leisure Industry Association. Position: Senior Expert Consultant.
I saw fantastic scenery, imposing tourist sites, I took hundreds of pictures, see some here as well some of the location maps during our travel. I still have an idea to publish some of the pictures.
In every city we passed we were received as VIPs by the local government.
We ended our journey on the dam of the Three Gorges 0n 12 November 2022.
Many sites visited
In this interview I gave some comments and recommendations about the tourist sites I visited: 151118 interviewGVK
See the planned program: 151102 program
Here is a list, actually incomplete as some locations were downvoted (sometimes wrongly in my opinion):
The ranking list of 30 Best New Three Gorges Scenic Spots
1三峡人家 (san xia ren jia in Yi Chang)、2三峡港湾 (san xia gang wan in Zhong Xian)、3神农溪 (shen nong stream in Ba Dong)、4汉丰湖 (han feng lake in Kai Xian)、5黄水旅游区 (Huang shui Tourist Area in Shi Zhu)、6鬼城名山 (the ghost city in Feng Du)、7三峡大坝 (Three Gorges Dam)、8神女景区 (shen nv Tourist Area in Wu Shan)、9平湖万州 (Wan Zhou city)、10新三峡电影公社 (New Three Gorges Film village in Wan Zhou)、11瞿塘峡 (Qutang Gorge)、12巫山小三峡 (Wu Shan Little Three Gorges in Wu Shan)、13天坑地缝 (tian keng di feng in Feng Jie)、14恩施大峡谷 (En Shi Grand Canyon in En Shi)、15雪玉洞 (Show Jade Cave in Feng Du)、16白帝城 (Bai Di City in Feng Jie)、17西沱古镇 (Xi Tuo Ancient town in Shi Zhu)、18龙缸景区 (Long Gang Tourism Area in Yun Yang)、19万州大瀑布 (Wan Zhou Great Falls in Wan Zhou)、20武陵山大裂谷 (Wu Ling Mountain Rift Valley in Fu Ling)、21大昌古镇 (Da Chang Ancient Town in Wu Shan)、22腾龙洞 (Teng Long Cave in Li Chuan)、23石宝寨 (Shi Bao Zhai in Zhong Xian)、24刘伯承纪念馆 (Liu Bo Cheng Memorial Hall in Kai Xian)、25白鹤梁水下博物馆 (Bai He Liang Underwater Museum in Fu Ling)、26文峰观 (Wen Feng Taoist Temple in Wu Shan)、27三峡梯城 (San Xia Ladder City in Yun Yang)、28张飞庙 (Zhang Fei Temple in Yun Yang)、29屈原故里 (Qu Yuan Temple in Zi Gui)、30涪陵两江广场 (Fu Ling Rivers Plaza in Fu Ling)
The dam
It’s the world’s 27th largest dam by reservoir volume, and the world’s largest power station by installed capacity (22,500 MW). After the extensive monsoon rainfalls of 2020, the dam produced nearly 112 TWh in a year, breaking the previous world record set by the Itaipu Dam (Brazil) in 2016.
The dam’s body was completed in 2006; the power plant became fully operational in 2012. The last major component of the project, the ship lift, was completed in 2015. The dam, measuring 185 meters in height and 2,309 meters in width, significantly surpasses Brazil’s 12,600 MW Itaipu facility and is one of the world’s largest hydroelectric plants.
Each of the main water turbines, state-of-the-art at their installation, has a capacity of 700 MW. Combining the capacity of the dam’s 32 main turbines with the two smaller generators (50 MW each) that provide power to the plant itself, the total electric generating capacity of the Three Gorges Dam is 22,500 MW.
The generators were manufactured by two joint ventures: Alstom, ABB, Kvaerner, and the Chinese company Harbin Motor; and Voith, General Electric, Siemens (abbreviated as VGS), and the Chinese company Oriental Motor.
The dam enhances the Yangtze River’s shipping capacity and provides flood control, helping to protect millions of people from severe flooding on the Yangtze Plain.
Source with many details: Wikipedia.
In the eighties I introduced the Belgian technology of ship lifts to the project team but they failed to follow up. Much later the Chinese side came back to me but at that stage I said, sorry, all engineers have retired and Belgium cannot do it anymore. They built their own ship lift but as far as I can see, it is not that much used used, the ships usually use the ship locks.
See the story of the Belgian Strépy-Thieu boat lift in Wikipedia.