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Visiting the Three Gorges Dam. Yichang, China. Perhaps the Most Disappointing Sight Ever

Visiting the Three Gorges Dam tour from Yichang was right up there with the worst travel planning of my life. What was I thinking?!

I’ve always been blown away by places I heard about as a child. Whether they’re natural like Victoria falls or man-made like the Pyramids, there’s just something special when you see something for the first time and are left awe-struck.

I expected that same feeling when I visited the Three Gorges Dam in China.

After all, it’s the largest dam ever built, holding more records than almost any other engineering project on Earth. I’d read about it for years while studying geography in school. So when I was travelling across China for the fifth time, I decided it was finally time to tick it off the list.

I imagined some colossal feat of engineering. Massive concrete walls towering above the Yangtze River. Something truly jaw-dropping.

When expectations don’t meet reality

Ever since I studied geography at high school the Three Gorges Dam has been on my mind, so on my 5^th trip to China I thought I’m definitely gonna finally knock it off the list. Nevertheless, Visiting the Three Gorges Dam ended up not meeting my expectations at all.

It’s not actually that near anything else worth visiting, lots of people take cruise boats, from Chongqing (amazing place to visit by the way, check out my Chongqing itinerary). Up the Yangtze river to near the dam which is fun but quite expensive on a backpacker budget ($300 for 3 days is around the cheapest). I’d do that now i’m older and richer to be honest.

Lots of hostels run tours here too. Even from as far as Beijing (18 hours away) and Chengdu (15 hours away), instead I made my way from the Avatar mountains at Zhangjiajie (AMAZING BTW). I was on a scenic route overland to Beijing. So I made a conscious effort to stop off at Yichang on the way. From which the dam is only 30km away.

Three Gorges Dam Tour from Yichang is easy to organise

Yichang itself is… not exactly a highlight.

Yichang is a non-descript, industrial city which is entirely devoid of any hostels, I stayed in the 7 days inn. A chain hotel more set up for business travel (perhaps an early sign I missed?!). But it served my purpose. They also ran (Chinese) tours Visiting the Three Gorges Dam every day for 150RMB ($24) which I jumped on. Leaving at 8.30am, back at 1pm.

The tour of the Three Gorges Dam Experience

We got our tour bus, drove for 45 minutes, went to the dam (where entrance fees alone are another 105RMB/$17). And we went through our 3 part tour. On a side note, Visiting the Three Gorges Dam was supposed to be a unique highlight of the trip.

• A viewpoint from 2km from the dam.
• A viewpoint beside the dam
• A viewpoint in front of the dam.

It is categorically the most disappointing thing I have ever visited. Ever. Not to mention the endless tourist shops trying to flog you miniature versions of the thing.

And that’s basically it.

• No walking across the dam.
• No exploring inside it.
• No getting close to the massive engineering structures.
• Just… viewpoints.
• And souvenir shops.

Lots and lots of souvenir shops selling miniature Three Gorges Dam models.

Why was it so sh*te!?

I understand the scale of the project. The Three Gorges Dam:

• took 15 years to build
• generates more electricity than any dam on Earth
• holds over 100 engineering records

On paper, it’s extraordinary. But from a traveller’s perspective? It just doesn’t translate well. In hindsight, Visiting the Three Gorges Dam was an experience that fell short of the grandeur I expected.

Unlike something like Hoover Dam, which towers dramatically above a canyon and allows visitors to walk across it. Or the Panama canal. the Three Gorges Dam feels entirely underwhelming.

You can’t walk on the structure itself, which means you never really feel its 2-kilometre length. And because it isn’t especially tall compared with other famous dams, it lacks that dramatic visual impact.

If you didn’t already know it was the largest dam in the world, you might honestly think it was just another random piece of concrete. And I spent days getting here and seeing it. I’m a moron. Travellers might wonder if Visiting the Three Gorges Dam was worth the effort.

So, Was Visiting the Three Gorges Dam Worth It?

For me? CLEARLY NOT!

However, I do like seeing things for myself. Even if something turns out to be disappointing, at least I know I’ve experienced it firsthand. And now I know. Ultimately, Visiting the Three Gorges Dam was a lesson in managing expectations.

The Three Gorges Dam might be one of the greatest engineering projects in human history, but from a travel perspective… it’s 10000% underwhelming. Still, that’s part of the adventure.

Not every famous place lives up to the hype. Happy travels.