The Three Gorges Dam, China's gigantic hydropower project on the Yangtze River, is expected to open to tourists soon.

The dam, 2,309 meters long and 185 meters high, is divided into the left and right sections.

The 1,600-meter left section has been completed and is expected to open to tourists by the end of the year.

The 660-meter right section will be completed by the end of 2007.

A commemorative park has been built on the left section to mark the damming of the Yangtze River, according to the Great Three Gorges Travel Agency. The generators will also be open to tourists.

More than 800,000 tourists visited the Three Gorges Dam area in 2004, with tourism revenue hitting 130 million yuan (US$15.6 million).

Yichang City in Hubei Province, where the Three Gorges Dam is located, plans to spend 3 billion yuan to spur tourism in the dam area.

It also plans to develop a large number of tourist sites featuring views of the Yangtze, cultural relics of the Three Kingdoms (220-280), relics of historical figures Qu Yuan (340 B.C.-277 B.C.), one of China's ancient patriotic poets, and Wang Zhaojun, a lady-in-waiting at the court of Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-25 A.D.), whose marriage with the chief of Xiongnu in 33 B.C. helped enhance the Western Han Dynasty's (206 B.C.-23) friendly ties with the nomadic country.

Source: China Daily