Chongqing Three Gorges Dam
Chongqing Three Gorges Dam
4
6:00 AM - 11:30 PM
Monday
6:00 AM - 11:30 PM
Tuesday
6:00 AM - 11:30 PM
Wednesday
6:00 AM - 11:30 PM
Thursday
6:00 AM - 11:30 PM
Friday
6:00 AM - 11:30 PM
Saturday
6:00 AM - 11:30 PM
Sunday
6:00 AM - 11:30 PM
Tours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
Full view
Top ways to experience Chongqing Three Gorges Dam and nearby attractions
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.0
71 reviews
Excellent
30
Very good
30
Average
9
Poor
1
Terrible
1
SagaloutsTour
Gerrards Cross, UK1,148 contributions
Jun 2019 • Couples
An incredible feat of engineering, which dispalced one and a quarter million people. They either had to move up the mountain, to less infertile land or to new high rise flats in neighbouring places. However it is amazing to travel through all the levels. We took a tour of the dam, an incredible amount of people employed here and amazing to see.
Written June 24, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elaine S
197 contributions
Apr 2015 • Couples
We were on a river tour and visited the dam prior to transiting the locks.
Great guide showed us around. Difficult to comprehend the scale of the work and the number of people who need to be resettled. Lovely day, so we had good views. The area of the dam open to visitors (you are not allowed inside) was beautifully landscaped with sculptures and a viewing hill
Great guide showed us around. Difficult to comprehend the scale of the work and the number of people who need to be resettled. Lovely day, so we had good views. The area of the dam open to visitors (you are not allowed inside) was beautifully landscaped with sculptures and a viewing hill
Written May 2, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pat Ives
London37 contributions
Sep 2013 • Friends
Just returned from a 13 day Viking Emerald cruise on the Yangste and stay in Shanghai, Xian and Beijing. We had a wonderful time. The ship was really nice and the food was great with unlimited wine, beer and soft drinks at meal times which was a bonus. The staff could not do enough for you and our tour guide was knowledgeable, amusing and very conscientious.
I thought I would add some of my observations which may help fellow travellers.
China
This is an amazing country. Much more modern and cleaner than I had expected. The shops near the Ritz Carlton are all designer shops - Tiffany, Chanel, Gucci etc but you can also find a MacDonalds and a Starbucks. There is also a supermarket down the escalator outside of the hotel front entrance.
The main tourist attractions such as the Terracotta Army and the Great Wall are absolutely awesome but there is quite a lot of walking and climbing of stairs and steep slopes involved with some of the visits so you should not book this trip if you have difficulty walking.
Tipping
The suggested tips are quite high but they were well deserved. However, we met at least one couple who never tip and another who said they did not intend to tip the full amount suggested. Two envelopes are left in your room on the day before you disembark and there is a box in reception in which to place your envelope so they are anonymous. Tips are supposed to be divided equally amongst all the staff. As I suspected that the division may not be entirely equal, I did hold back some money to tip our waitresses and room steward separately. Tips for the river cruise are meant to be calculated on a 5 day basis. Your tour guide however, is with you for 10 days. Having read previous reviews I took Chinese Yuan and US$. I also made sure I took 50 x 1 dollar bills for tipping drivers and local tour guides.
Packed Lunches
We were supplied with packed lunches on at least 2 occasions. These were very good and contained a device to keep the food cool.
Internal flights
We found we were also served a meal/snack on all three internal flights regardless of whether we had already eaten. Luggage was taken off the carousel for us and taken separately to our hotel which was good but sometimes meant we went out for meals in the evening before our luggage turned up so it
Hotels
The hotels used are of very high standard and they tend to be skyscrapers. I hate lifts and we were allocated rooms on the 45th floor of one hotel and the 28th of another. With hindsight I should have emailed the hotels in advance of our arrival and requested a low floor. The toiletries available came in very useful when our luggage failed to arrive before we went out for dinner, but you might want to pack a change of clothes in your carry on luggage when going on the internal flights
Evening excursions
The acrobatic show at the Ritz Carlton in Shanghai is absolutely amazing. The optional dinner show at the Tang Dynasty, Xian was very good but we did not go the Peking Duck dinner as we could not see the point of paying for a meal when one was supplied free of charge anyway. We chose not to go to the Opera either and as this was the last night, I felt we had made the right choice as we got to enjoy a really nice leisurely dinner in our excellent Westin Hotel whereas those who did go had to have an early and somewhat rushed dinner in order to arrive at the Opera on time.
River Cruise
The Yangste is very dirty, lots of flotsam and jetsam. It is generally foggy and the scenery during the first couple of days was uninteresting. However, once we passed through the locks at the Three Gorges Dam the scenery became much more picturesque. Tea, coffee, biscuits and cake are always available. There is a sundeck but no swimming pool. There is always something to do, the resident singers are very good and our tour guide showed us how to play Mahjong which is something I have always wanted to learn.
Shopping
The places you are taken to by the tour guides tend to be overpriced, partly because they are often government owned but also to factor in their commission. I personally avoid buying anything at all in these establishments, but having said that, there is little opportunity to go shopping independently although we did find some cheaper shops near the Great Wall where we had great fun bargaining.
We certainly had a wonderful time and can thoroughly recommend this trip
I thought I would add some of my observations which may help fellow travellers.
China
This is an amazing country. Much more modern and cleaner than I had expected. The shops near the Ritz Carlton are all designer shops - Tiffany, Chanel, Gucci etc but you can also find a MacDonalds and a Starbucks. There is also a supermarket down the escalator outside of the hotel front entrance.
The main tourist attractions such as the Terracotta Army and the Great Wall are absolutely awesome but there is quite a lot of walking and climbing of stairs and steep slopes involved with some of the visits so you should not book this trip if you have difficulty walking.
Tipping
The suggested tips are quite high but they were well deserved. However, we met at least one couple who never tip and another who said they did not intend to tip the full amount suggested. Two envelopes are left in your room on the day before you disembark and there is a box in reception in which to place your envelope so they are anonymous. Tips are supposed to be divided equally amongst all the staff. As I suspected that the division may not be entirely equal, I did hold back some money to tip our waitresses and room steward separately. Tips for the river cruise are meant to be calculated on a 5 day basis. Your tour guide however, is with you for 10 days. Having read previous reviews I took Chinese Yuan and US$. I also made sure I took 50 x 1 dollar bills for tipping drivers and local tour guides.
Packed Lunches
We were supplied with packed lunches on at least 2 occasions. These were very good and contained a device to keep the food cool.
Internal flights
We found we were also served a meal/snack on all three internal flights regardless of whether we had already eaten. Luggage was taken off the carousel for us and taken separately to our hotel which was good but sometimes meant we went out for meals in the evening before our luggage turned up so it
Hotels
The hotels used are of very high standard and they tend to be skyscrapers. I hate lifts and we were allocated rooms on the 45th floor of one hotel and the 28th of another. With hindsight I should have emailed the hotels in advance of our arrival and requested a low floor. The toiletries available came in very useful when our luggage failed to arrive before we went out for dinner, but you might want to pack a change of clothes in your carry on luggage when going on the internal flights
Evening excursions
The acrobatic show at the Ritz Carlton in Shanghai is absolutely amazing. The optional dinner show at the Tang Dynasty, Xian was very good but we did not go the Peking Duck dinner as we could not see the point of paying for a meal when one was supplied free of charge anyway. We chose not to go to the Opera either and as this was the last night, I felt we had made the right choice as we got to enjoy a really nice leisurely dinner in our excellent Westin Hotel whereas those who did go had to have an early and somewhat rushed dinner in order to arrive at the Opera on time.
River Cruise
The Yangste is very dirty, lots of flotsam and jetsam. It is generally foggy and the scenery during the first couple of days was uninteresting. However, once we passed through the locks at the Three Gorges Dam the scenery became much more picturesque. Tea, coffee, biscuits and cake are always available. There is a sundeck but no swimming pool. There is always something to do, the resident singers are very good and our tour guide showed us how to play Mahjong which is something I have always wanted to learn.
Shopping
The places you are taken to by the tour guides tend to be overpriced, partly because they are often government owned but also to factor in their commission. I personally avoid buying anything at all in these establishments, but having said that, there is little opportunity to go shopping independently although we did find some cheaper shops near the Great Wall where we had great fun bargaining.
We certainly had a wonderful time and can thoroughly recommend this trip
Written September 22, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mikeview
Clayton, CA676 contributions
Apr 2013 • Couples
Size alone makes this a most impressive site and the Chinese have turned this into a major tourist attraction. The assent to the dam overlook area is facilitated with escalators that carry tourists to the top. Here, in addition to a limited view of the dam, are offered a number of other picturesque views and objects of interest. As the largest hydroelectric dam in the world, it has raised the water level in the Yangtze over 100 meters and provides as much as 10% of China's hydroelectric power.
Written May 3, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Captainbligh53
Bournemouth, UK157 contributions
Mar 2019 • Couples
We had a fantastic 2 hour visit to the Three Gorges Dam. I would like to have been able to see and visit the generators. Our guide explained all the facts about it's history and the years and years it took to build. A shame that so much history got flooded by the water from the dam and over 1 million people had to move and be re homed.
Written April 15, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ginnyc661
South Carolina150 contributions
Jun 2017 • Couples
Amazing engineering! We traveled through the 4 locks as part of a cruise. You can visit the museum and view the dam. My husband enjoyed the visit very much!
Written July 1, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rick C
Panama City, Panama13 contributions
Oct 2015 • Friends
Architectural and Engineering Masterpieces to watch and pass through. Traveling in a boat with wide open windows to appreciate these passages.
Written August 12, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Candelaria B
171 contributions
Oct 2015
Dams and the Yangtze River: Witness to History
I enjoyed rivers and dams. During the last 10 years of my traveling, I have taken the time to visited rivers and study dams. Bothe is spectacular feats of men and nature.
Just like the Amazon, and the Nile, it is the largest river in China. Imagine, it originates in the Qinghai Province in the west of china and cuts through eleven provinces, including the Tibet and pours its water into the East China Sea in Shanghai.
It has many offshoots including Min River, Han River, Jialing River, Gan River, and Huangpu River. The Three Gorges Dam on the river is the largest dam project and hydropower station in the world. Generally, people consider the river a dividing line between North China and South China. Areas to the northern and the south of the Yangtze have different climate, scenery, economics, culture and vernacular customs. This is why I like to explore the rivers. You can experience the differences among internal groups.
There are long tours and short tours for the river. I recommend you book your tour in advance. Depending on the tour, they make stops in some unique places, such the Chongqing Municipality. It is also an industrial and commercial center in the Southwest of China, north of the River. The dams are cool and you would learn plenty about them. Another interesting site to visit along the river is Fungdu or the Ghost city. There is also Shibaozhai, a 12 story wooden Pagoda. It means Stone Treasure Fortress. It dates back to the Qing Dynasty in 1750. Other site you can see are the White Emperor City, For some the most important part of the River is the Yangtze River Gorges. They are Quoting Gorge, Wuxia Gorge, and Xiling Gorge. The word for the Three Gorges is Sanxia. You should go on and practice, Sanxia. I disembarked in Shanghai.
Now, some people are simply interested on seeing the Three Gorges. You can take a flight from Beijing to Yiyang. The flight is 2 and half hours long. By train, it takes about 8 hours. By bus is about 25 hours and by taxi about 13 hours.
I must recommend the Victoria Katarina Cruise. They include land excursions in their fare, three meals a day and a series of activities aboard. More so, the staff is friendly and polite. I paid $400.00 for my tour. You would have to pay a small fee, like a tax, to board. This is part of government regulations. The transfer to the ship from airport is not included. You can pay a taxi for about $10.00. It takes about 40 minutes from Airport to the Port. Oh, there is Wi-Fi in the ship however; there is a recommendation not to use any Internet services that can compromise your personal accounts. Other than that, China and this River do clutch your soul. Sit in the balcony and watch the tallest mountains in the evenings. Thought there is fog, the sun still coloring the landscape. Let it color your soul with bright shades.
I enjoyed rivers and dams. During the last 10 years of my traveling, I have taken the time to visited rivers and study dams. Bothe is spectacular feats of men and nature.
Just like the Amazon, and the Nile, it is the largest river in China. Imagine, it originates in the Qinghai Province in the west of china and cuts through eleven provinces, including the Tibet and pours its water into the East China Sea in Shanghai.
It has many offshoots including Min River, Han River, Jialing River, Gan River, and Huangpu River. The Three Gorges Dam on the river is the largest dam project and hydropower station in the world. Generally, people consider the river a dividing line between North China and South China. Areas to the northern and the south of the Yangtze have different climate, scenery, economics, culture and vernacular customs. This is why I like to explore the rivers. You can experience the differences among internal groups.
There are long tours and short tours for the river. I recommend you book your tour in advance. Depending on the tour, they make stops in some unique places, such the Chongqing Municipality. It is also an industrial and commercial center in the Southwest of China, north of the River. The dams are cool and you would learn plenty about them. Another interesting site to visit along the river is Fungdu or the Ghost city. There is also Shibaozhai, a 12 story wooden Pagoda. It means Stone Treasure Fortress. It dates back to the Qing Dynasty in 1750. Other site you can see are the White Emperor City, For some the most important part of the River is the Yangtze River Gorges. They are Quoting Gorge, Wuxia Gorge, and Xiling Gorge. The word for the Three Gorges is Sanxia. You should go on and practice, Sanxia. I disembarked in Shanghai.
Now, some people are simply interested on seeing the Three Gorges. You can take a flight from Beijing to Yiyang. The flight is 2 and half hours long. By train, it takes about 8 hours. By bus is about 25 hours and by taxi about 13 hours.
I must recommend the Victoria Katarina Cruise. They include land excursions in their fare, three meals a day and a series of activities aboard. More so, the staff is friendly and polite. I paid $400.00 for my tour. You would have to pay a small fee, like a tax, to board. This is part of government regulations. The transfer to the ship from airport is not included. You can pay a taxi for about $10.00. It takes about 40 minutes from Airport to the Port. Oh, there is Wi-Fi in the ship however; there is a recommendation not to use any Internet services that can compromise your personal accounts. Other than that, China and this River do clutch your soul. Sit in the balcony and watch the tallest mountains in the evenings. Thought there is fog, the sun still coloring the landscape. Let it color your soul with bright shades.
Written August 7, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sara S
Oklahoma City, OK798 contributions
Aug 2013 • Family
Three Gorges Dam is the largest power-generating facility in the world with thirty-two 700 MW turbines as well as two 500 MW turbines (to poer the facility itself). It is truly an engineering wonder and will continue to be one for many years to come. However, the tour of the dam was not designed to impress the visitors with the engineering achievements. Very little information was given on the design, construction, or the operation of the dam. It turned out to be just a casual visit of a famous site, a site that was incredibly crowded with large tour groups roaming everywhere. So, depending on what your expectation is, you could be either satisfied or quite disappointed at the tour. On a seperate but relevant note, going through the multi-stage ship locks near the dam while on a Yangtze River cruise ship is the most amazing experience.
Written July 3, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
yasmin1pieter2
london8 contributions
May 2014 • Couples
Booked a trip with Yangtze River Cruises.com. Excellent. The lady who organized our trip was extremely helpful and very reliable. The also booked our flight from Wenzhou to Chongqing without any problems. Highly recommend the trip, as it covers the lesser gorges and the 3 gorges and the going through all the locks, which is all very impressive and you better hurry as by 2015 they will have a lift which takes boats through the locks in 15 minutes !!! That is China for you.
Written June 10, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
What sort of clothing did you wear we are going on the 21st August
Written August 7, 2015
I agree with the previous answer about it being hot in August. I would suggest checking the internet for weather forecast, and packing a rain jacket for afternoon thunderstorms. You'll really enjoy the dam and surrounding grounds.
Written August 8, 2015
Showing results 1-1 of 1
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing