More than 600,000 visitors came to see China's Three Gorges Dam and the surrounding area in the first six months, a rise of 60 percent over the same period last year.

On Tuesday, a record 7,308 tourists flocked to the site, said Zhang Chao, deputy general manager of the Yangtze River Three Gorges Tourism Development Company.

The completion of the Three Gorges Dam on May 20 served as the impetus behind the tourism boom, said Zhang.

"Tourist arrivals are expected to hit 1.2 million this year," he said.

Begun in 1993, the Three Gorges Project, including the 2,309-meter-long, 185-meter-high dam with 26 generators, is being built in three phases on the middle reaches of the Yangtze, China's longest river.

In addition to flood control, the Three Gorges Project is expected to generate 84.7 billion kwh of power annually when it is completed in 2008, a year ahead of schedule.

(Xinhua News Agency July 21, 2006)