The Three Gorges Dam is a cement gravity dam across the Yangtze River (fig.) near the town of Sandouping, in Yiling District, Hubei Province. It is 186 meters  high, 2,335 meters long and 40 meters wide, and was completed and fully functional as of 4 July 2012. To bypass the dam, enormous staircase locks (fig.) were built, as well as a much faster ship lift —visible on the left (fig.) in this photo which is made from the dam's Viewpoint (fig.), and which is able to lift vessels of up to 3,000 tonnes at a fraction of the time against transiting through the locks.