The Three Gorges Dam

Our cruise ended early this morning, and off we went to see the Three Gorges Dam. It was built for several functions, including reducing the risk of flooding on the Yangtze and also to produce hydroelectric power. From 2014-16 it was the world's largest capacity power station, able to produce 22,500 MW: in 2014 it generated a total of 98.8 terawatt-hours of electricity although it has now been surpassed by the Itaipu Dam in South America.
 
The main blip is a view of the dam itself: in the foreground towards the right of the photo you can see the lower entrance to the Ship Lift (or Ship Elevator) which can lift or lower ships up to 3,000 tonnes between river below and the reservoir above in 30 minutes using a water counterbalance system. This is much quicker than the alternative lock system which takes three and a half hours to pass through. The extra, taken from the other side, shows the upper entrance to the lift.
 
After that we boarded a sleeper train for a 16-hour journey to the Yangshuo area, so I'm blipping this from my bunk on the train before settling down for the night. It's not the most salubrious accommodation but we're in the upper class section. I'm amazed at the extent of 4G coverage in China which allows me to do my blipping from here.