Vietnamese tourists are overwhelmed when standing in front of the dam that "slows down the Earth's rotation"

(Dan Tri) - During a business trip to China, Ms. Thao Van had the opportunity to visit the Three Gorges Dam - the world's largest hydroelectric project. The short trip left her with many unforgettable impressions.

As someone with a special passion for the great works of mankind, Ms. Bui Diep Thao Van ( Hanoi ) is always fascinated by the miracles that demonstrate human intelligence, creativity and ability to conquer nature.

Among them, the Three Gorges Dam - China's giant engineering symbol - is a destination that Ms. Van always hopes to see one day.

The opportunity came last September, when Ms. Van had a short business trip to Shenzhen (China). Not wanting to miss this rare opportunity, she decided to spend the whole weekend flying to Yichang City (Hubei Province) - where a massive dam spans the majestic Yangtze River.

The Three Gorges Dam is a great architectural work of China (Illustration: CNN).

For Ms. Van, it was not just a short trip but also a trip to fulfill a long-cherished dream, to stand in front of a construction known as one of the greatest engineering wonders in the world .

From the center of Yichang, Ms. Van took a taxi to the dam area, a distance of about an hour. She traveled the entire journey on her own, like most of her previous trips.

At the dam area, she spent the whole session to visit the items from above and especially signed up for a "dam crossing" cruise - an experience that many tourists consider the most impressive when coming here.

“The feeling when the ship was slowly lifted up through each giant water step was truly overwhelming,” Ms. Van recalled.

Tourists experience sitting on a boat "crossing" the dam (Photo: Character provided).

Regarding costs, she said the service prices in Nghi Xuong are quite reasonable, comparable to those in Vietnam. The hotel is only about 700,000 VND/night, the cruise ticket is 289 yuan (about more than 1 million VND). Her total personal expenses for this trip are about 4 million VND (not including airfare).

“If you include the round-trip flight from Vietnam, the total trip costs about 15 million VND,” she said.

What surprised Ms. Van was the regulation restricting foreign tourists in the dam area. According to her experience, international visitors are not allowed to enter and exit freely but must register in groups, which is quite complicated.

“Luckily, I met a kind local couple. They had a car that was allowed into the dam area, so they helped me enthusiastically,” she said.

When asked about her deepest impression, Ms. Van could not hide her excitement when describing the dam’s giant floodgates. She said the real-life structure was much more majestic than she had imagined.

The Three Gorges Dam with its "water elevator" system makes many people admire (Photo: Character provided).

“Standing in front of the rushing water, I truly felt the power of nature, as well as felt small and admired the ability of humans to conquer nature. This was one of the most overwhelming moments during my trips abroad,” she shared.

Talking about her future plans, Thao Van affirmed that she will definitely return to the Three Gorges Dam, but next time it will be with her family. For her, the recent trip was not only a journey to explore a great engineering work but also an experience that helped her feel more deeply about human creativity.

“The Three Gorges Dam is not only an engineering project, but also a symbol of human intelligence and strength. I want my family to witness its magnificence,” she said.

The Three Gorges Dam is located on the Yangtze River, in Yichang City, Hubei Province (China). This is the largest hydroelectric dam in the world, more than 2.3km long, 185m high, with a generating capacity of up to 22,500MW.

Not only does it play a huge role in flood control and energy supply, the Three Gorges Dam has also become a famous tourist destination thanks to its massive scale and spectacular scenery.

The Three Gorges Dam glows at night (Photo: CNN).

Not stopping there, this project has also attracted special attention from the international scientific community. According to Dr. Benjamin Fong Chao - a scientist from the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) - a giant structure like the Three Gorges Dam has the ability to slow down the Earth's rotation by about 0.06 microseconds per day.

A 2005 NASA public report also mentioned that, with its enormous size and weight, this dam could shift the Earth's two poles by about 2cm.

Although the magnitude of this change is very small and there is no official scientific conclusion to confirm the long-term impact, these studies partly show the enormous influence of a man-made structure on the planet.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/khach-viet-choang-ngop-khi-dung-truoc-con-dap-lam-cham-vong-quay-trai-dat-20251021132438823.htm