The trial operation of the permanent shiplift at the Three Gorges Dam in central China's Hubei Province began Sunday, marking the completion of the Three Gorges project 22 years after construction began.

The shiplift, designed by a Chinese and German team, is the largest and most sophisticated in the world, according to the China Three Gorges Corp., a state-owned company responsible for the construction of the Three Gorges project.

The vertical-hoisting elevator is designed to help small and medium-sized ships, with a maximum displacement of about 3,000 tonnes, to traverse the dam. The water level behind the dam is up to 113 meters higher than the downstream river.