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Catching a glimpse of the world's largest dam is not as easy as you might expect.

The Three Gorges Corp strictly controls the expressway leading to the dam outside Yichang city and the site itself, citing security concerns.

But the policy also gives the company a monopoly on all tourism activities via its 'designated' travel agencies, which charge 168 yuan per person for an hour-long tour of the site.

The fee includes transport, a Chinese-speaking guide and the chance to view the dam from two lookouts, one far above the massive structure and another on the same level but a few hundred metres away.

Neither viewpoint is close enough to see the cracks in the dam, which domestic media says are so big a fist can be shoved into them.

Tourists could previously view the dam from below, beneath an arc of water gushing through the sluice gates, but tour operators scrapped this stop from the itinerary because of construction work.

Despite  reports that armed helicopters, armoured vehicles and bomb-defusing robots have been posted at the dam to guard against potential attacks by terrorists or Taiwan, none of this hi-tech weaponry was evident during a recent visit.

However, armed paramilitary police stood guard at strategic points, as they have in the past. One soldier gestured brusquely at a foreign tourist asking permission to take a photo, before immediately getting on the phone in his sentry box, presumably to report the incident.

For some visitors, viewing the dam is a dream come true.

British tourist David Parkin, a builder by trade, said: 'It's just incredible.'

But a local taxi driver was less impressed. 'Everyone who goes to the dam regrets it. There's nothing interesting to look at,' he said.

Downstream in Yichang, residents credit the dam with preventing flooding in their city. They seem unconcerned by the possibility that releasing a large amount of water through the dam to relieve flooding upstream could instead submerge their homes.

'We're not worried. If water is released through the Three Gorges Dam, then the Gezhou Dam will stop it,' said laid-off worker Ye Changyou, referring to Yichang's second dam, located inside the city limits.



Why the biggest dam in the world isn't always easy to see