Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum, also known as Chongqing Museum, is a comprehensive museum of history and art with a focus on the cultural heritage of the Bayu region (former name of Chongqing), the Three Gorges area, the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, migration history, and urban culture. It is a national museum jointly supported by the central and local governments, a national demonstration base for the integration of culture and technology, one of China’s first national first-class museums, one of the most innovative museums in China, a key research base of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, a national patriotism education demonstration base, a national science education base, a national youth education base, a cross-Strait cultural exchange base, and a key national institution for the preservation of ancient books.

Its predecessor was the Southwest Museum, founded in 1951. In 1955, following the dissolution of the Southwest Administrative Region, it was renamed Chongqing Municipal Museum. In 2000, to support the rescue, display, and research of a large number of valuable cultural assets under the Three Gorges Cultural Heritage Protection Project, Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum was established with the approval of the General Office of the State Council.

The museum consists of five sites: the Main Museum, Chongqing Baiheliang Underwater Museum, Chongqing Soong Ching Ling Memorial Hall, Tushan Kiln Site, and Chongqing Three Gorges Cultural Heritage Conservation and Technology Base. It covers a land area of 50,000 square meters, with a total floor area of 71,700 square meters and 27,000 square meters of exhibition space. It receives more than 3 million visitors annually. The Main Museum officially opened to the public on June 18, 2005. Located at 236 Renmin Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, it forms, together with the adjacent Chongqing People’s Square and Chongqing Great Hall of the People, a landmark urban cultural complex.

Sculpture: Boat Trackers Braving Mountains and Rivers

“Magnificent Three Gorges” Exhibition Hall

“Magnificent Three Gorges” Exhibition Hall

The museum holds more than 115,000 groups of objects, comprising over 280,000 individual items, as well as more than 18,000 rare books and ancient texts. Its collections span 23 categories and include distinctive holdings such as ancient human specimens, artifacts from the Three Gorges area, Bayubronzes, Han-dynasty objects, ethnographic materials from Southwest China, wartime materials from China’s rear areas during the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, ceramics, calligraphy and painting, and guqin.

The museum has 13 permanent exhibitions, including Magnificent Three Gorges, Ancient Bayu, Chongqing: The Road to a City, The War of Resistance Years, Soong Ching Ling and the China Defense League, and the permanent exhibition of Baiheliang Underwater Museum. It also presents 20 to 30 temporary exhibitions each year. Major exhibition highlights include the semi-panoramic presentation of the Bombing of Chongqing, the dome-screen film The Great Three Gorges, the digital sand table of the Three Gorges Dam, and the interactive Magic Wall.

Left mandible fossil of “Wushan Man”

Bird-shaped bronze zun vessel

Sculpture: The Mountain City Stands Strong

“The War of Resistance Years” Exhibition Hall

“The War of Resistance Years” Exhibition Hall

Information: 023-63679066 / 63679067

Opening Hours: 9:00–17:00, closed on Mondays

Address: 236 Renmin Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing