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What is the purpose of the ship lift at the Three Gorges Dam?
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Three Gorges Dam
The Three Gorges Dam spanning the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) near Yichang, Hubei province, China.
The ship lift at the Three Gorges Dam is designed to allow vessels of up to 3,000 tons to bypass the dam's five-tier ship locks. By providing this alternative route, the lift enables smaller ships to navigate past the dam more quickly than they could through the locks.1