Baiheliang Underwater Museum 白鹤梁水下博物馆

About Baiheliang Underwater Museum

Many record historic low-water conditions, turning the riverbed into a long environmental archive. The museum combines above-water interpretation with an underwater corridor, where viewing windows face the protected original rock. Begin with the records and rubbings upstairs before descending, so the inscriptions seen through the water have a clearer meaning. Underwater access depends on the museum’s operating arrangements.

The inscriptions at Baiheliang date back to the Guangde era of the Tang dynasty (764); the surviving carvings span from the fourth year of the Northern Song Kaibao era (971) to 1963, recording 72 low-water levels over 1,200 years. In 1994, as the Three Gorges Dam threatened to submerge the ridge permanently, academician Ge Xiurun (葛修润) proposed protecting it as an underwater museum built as a 'pressureless vessel' (无压容器); the plan was endorsed in 2002 by a Chongqing expert panel and the National Cultural Heritage Administration, and construction began on 13 February 2003, taking six years.

The technique seals the carvings in a chamber filled with filtered river water to balance internal and external pressure, an approach more stable and cheaper than an earlier 'crystal palace' design. Visitors descend by a 91-metre escalator to the viewing area, about 40 metres below the river surface, pass a 150-metre corridor on the Yangtze's fish and boat culture, and reach a 60-metre circular corridor with 23 windows overlooking the submerged ridge.

The museum is administered by the Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum (重庆中国三峡博物馆). It is designated a national 4A tourist attraction, a National Water-Regime Education Base (全国水情教育基地) and a National Science Popularization Education Base (全国科普教育基地). UNESCO has recognised it as the world's first underwater heritage-site museum reachable without diving.

What to look for

• Rubbings and interpretation explain the ridge’s historic water-level records.
• Underwater viewing windows reveal the protected original stone inscriptions.

Location & getting there

Getting to Baiheliang Underwater Museum

The museum is at 185 Binjiang Avenue, Section 2, in Fuling district. Arrange a local road arrival at the riverfront museum entrance and confirm access to the underwater route before booking the visit.