July 6, 2012 -- The Three Gorges opened its sluices for water discharge in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province on July 5, 2012. The water influx into the Three Gorges Reservoir reached 55,000 cubic meters per second on Thursday morning due to floodwater from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, exceeding the expected peak amount. The water level rose to over 146.8 meters, 1.4 meters higher than Wednesday.