Trial operation of the permanent ship lift at the Three Gorges Dam in central China's Hubei province began on Sept. 18, 2016. (Xinhua/Liang Jianqiang)

4. World's largest ship lift at Three Gorges Dam

Trial operation of the permanent ship lift at the Three Gorges Dam in central China's Hubei province began on Sept. 18, 2016.

The lift, designed by a Chinese and German team, is the largest and most sophisticated in the world.

The lift is designed to help small and medium-sized ships (maximum displacement of about 3,000 tons) to traverse the dam. The water level behind the dam is up to 113 meters higher than downstream.

It used to take ships three to four hours to pass the dam via the ship lock. The ship lift will cut this time to between 40 minutes and an hour.