Photo taken on Oct. 26, 2010 shows the Three Gorges reservior after the water level reached 175 meters, its designed maximum, at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province.  [Xinhua]

That water-level fluctuation corresponds to 22.15 billion cubic meters of water, which will ensure water demand in the lower reaches during drought seasons.

The dam has helped in about 10 flood-control campaigns since 2004, including seven this year.

The embankment on the Jingjiang section, for instance, the most flood-prone section of the Yangtze, will now be able to withstand a once-in-a-century flood. It could previously withstand only a once-in-a-decade flood.

A higher water level expands the navigable course of the reservoir 150 kilometers and raises ship-passing efficiency four times, cutting navigation costs by at least one third compared with the time when water level remained at 156 meters, a previous water-raising target before 2008.

The project has generated about 440 billion kwh of electricity since its first started generating electricity in 2003.

Now, the power plant will be able to realize its designed annual power-generation capacity of 84.7 billion kwh.

"All Chinese should be proud of the dam," said Cui Bangjian, a villager living close to the dam who likes to take walks along its embankment after meals.

"The whole scene is becoming more beautiful, and more ships come and go as the navigation area expands," the 60-year-old man said.

The Three Gorges Project was launched in 1993 with a budget equivalent to 22.5 billion U.S. dollars.

It is a multi-functional water control system, consisting of a dam, a five-tier ship lock, and 26 hydropower turbo-generators.

By 2012, six more hydropower turbo-generators will be installed.

The project was constructed in three phases, and storing water at the 175-meter level was a requirement once the last phase of construction was complete.

After nearly 16 years of construction, work on all the main sections of the project was completed last month.

Some 1.24 million residents in Chongqing Municipality and Hubei Province were relocated to make way for construction of the dam.

Some Chinese and foreign critics said the dam would cause environmental problems.

Those concerns helped prompt the dam's authorities to take extra measures, ensuring the project's efficiency and safety.