Goupitan Hydropower Station vessel navigation system opens

Goupitan Hydropower Station's navigation project allows ships of up to 500 tons to pass through – running along an aqueduct suspended above it on one side, to a massive shiplift that carries them to the much lower levels of the river on the other side. [Photo/Guiyang news network]

A new vessel navigation system recently opened at the Goupitan Hydropower Station – allowing ships of up to 500 metric tons to pass through it using a suspended aqueduct on the higher side of its dam, leading to a giant ship lift that deposits them to the much lower levels of the river on the other side.

The Goupitan Hydropower Station – located in Yuqing county in Southwest China's Guizhou province – is the biggest power station in the cascade hydropower development on the Wujiang River and is a key part of the national west-to-east power transmission project.

Located on the Wujiang River, the hydroelectric power station's shiplift is 199 meters high, reportedly making it the tallest in the world. The new facility, which fascinates because of the images of ships passing by along the aqueduct suspended 100 meters above ground, enables valuable commercial shipping to continue to operate.

With the official opening of the navigation project, Yuqing county can be connected with Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle and the Yangtze River Economic Belt. [Photo/Guiyang news network]

On June 22, the 500-ton vessel the Hangdian No 1 passed through the power station and its dam, marking the navigation project's official opening to water traffic.

As a major tributary of the Yangtze River, the Wujiang River has three such navigation projects at the Silin, Shatuo and Goupitan hydroelectric power stations. The trio of power stations cost 5.04 billion yuan ($777.51 million) to build, of which more than 3 billion yuan was poured into constructing the Goupitan Hydropower Station.

With the start of operations of the Goupitan Hydropower Station's navigation system, commercial ships can now travel from Guiyang city's Kaiyang wharf in Guizhou province to Southwest China's municipality of Chongqing and enter the Yangtze River.

Experts believe the Goupitan Hydropower Station will help Yuqing county participate in the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle and the Yangtze River Economic Belt.