All sand-clearing sluices of the Gezhouba Dam on the Yangtze River are thoroughly opened to discharge and flush away the sand sediments on the Sanjiang Sail Routes in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, Aug. 27, 2009. The maximal discharging volume reached as high as 9,000 cubic meters per second. Traffic control was imposed on related water areas for 15 hours. The sluicing discharging of sand sediments on the Sanjiang Sail Routes, the main navigational route on the Gezhouba Dam, is to take place 2 to 3 times regularly per year to ensure the unimpeded navigation during the low water period. [Xinhua]