The Three Gorges ship lift project on China's Yangtze River starts its trial run on Sunday, Sept. 18 in Yichang, Hubei province.

The ship lift can elevate ships weighing up to 3,000 tons. With a lifting height of up to 113 meters, internal usable space measuring 120 by 18 by 3.5 meters and transportation capacity of up to 15,500 tons, the lift is the largest of its kind anywhere in the world. It will shorten the time required for ships to pass through the dam from more than three hours at present to approximately 40 minutes.

Three Gorges Dam is the world's largest power station in terms of installed capacity.