Wuhan to the Three Gorges Dam: Trains, Tickets, and What to See in Yichang
Two hours by high-speed rail, a shuttle bus, a 113-metre ship lift, and the town where dragon boats began.
Getting there
High-speed trains leave Hankou Station (Metro Line 2) and Wuhan Station for Yichang East roughly every 30 minutes, taking about two hours (¥100–160 second class). Book on Trip.com or the 12306 app with your passport; scan the passport at the gate — there is no paper ticket. Arrive 40 minutes early for security.
From Yichang East to the dam
The dam visitor centre at Sandouping is about 45 minutes by car from the station. DiDi (inside Alipay) costs ¥120–150; the tourist bus runs several times a day. Bring your passport: foreign visitors register at the centre. Entry is free, but the mandatory shuttle between viewpoints costs about ¥35.
What you see
- Tanziling hill — the whole 2.3 km dam wall in one view, and the five-step ship lock below.
- The ship lift — an elevator that raises a 3,000-tonne vessel 113 metres in 40 minutes; time your visit for a lift if the schedule board allows.
- 185 Platform — stand at the dam's crest height and look down the reservoir.
- Qu Yuan Temple in Zigui — 20 minutes across the water, the shrine of the poet whose death in 278 BC gave the world the Dragon Boat Festival. In June the town hosts China's most authentic races.
Stay or go on
Return to Wuhan the same evening (last trains around 21:00), or sleep in Yichang's riverside centre and board a four-day Three Gorges cruise upstream to Chongqing the next night. From Yichang it is also four hours by car to Shennongjia's cloud forest, or an onward train to Enshi.