10 Travel Tuesday, October 2, 2018 CHINA DAILY HONG KONG EDITION From left: Divers conduct protection work at Baiheliang stone ridge in Chongqing’s Baiheliang Underwater Museum; tourists look at stone inscriptions through a window at the museum; and high­relief stone fish carvings dating back to 1813 are displayed at the museum. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY UNDERWATER WORLD The White Crane Ridge in the Yangtze River, believed to be the world’s most ancient hydrographic survey station, is now a unique subaquatic museum, Tan Yingzi reports. n Fuling, in South­ in the river’s upper reaches. with a deep­water lighting west China’s There is a local saying that if system which improves the Chongqing, Baihe­ the stone fish can be seen in presentation of the inscrip­ liang Underwater winter, the coming year will tions and reduces the power Museum, the first provide an abundant harvest. We need to ... consumption. of its kind in the The fish carving is more “Most importantly, it redu­ Iworld, shows how the Chinese than 1,100 years older than the ensure more ces the light intensity and pre­ made use of water resources. Jianghanguang gauge created vents the growth of algae on About 1,300 years ago, the in 1856 in Wuhan, the capital people are aware the rock,” he adds. ancient Chinese would gather of Hubei province, in the mid­ Also, to offer visitors a clear at Baiheliang, or the White dle reaches of the Yangtze Riv­ of the significance view of the ridge, the museum Crane Ridge, in the upper er. recently changed the type of reaches of the Yangtze River There are a total of 165 of these glass used in the windows, when it protruded from the inscriptions, 108 of which replacing them with materials water during the dry season, record the water levels in 72 inscriptions.” developed for the aviation usually from December until low­water years from 763 AD Huang Dejian, deputy director of industry. March. in the Tang Dynasty (618­907) the Baiheliang Underwater Then they picnicked, flew up to 1963. Museum Heritage list application kites and played games on this The inscriptions show the In 2006 and 2012, the White 1,600­meter­long natural hydrographic variations in Crane Ridge inscriptions were ridge which averages 15 the upper and middle reaches added to the provisional list of meters in width. of the Yangtze River during reinforce the carved stone. World Cultural Heritage sites This place got its name the years of drought. It took seven years — from that China submitted to the because white cranes would “These records are the most 2003 to 2009 — to build the UNESCO. flock to the place. But local authentic and reliable ancient An artist’s rendering of an overall look of the underwater museum. underwater museum at a total And in recent years, Chong­ people also believed that a hydrographic data,” says cost of 210 million yuan qing has begun to enhance its Taoist, who meditated on the Huang Dejian, the deputy ($30.88 million). efforts to get the site formally ridge and finally became director of the White Crane There are a total of 3,800 recognized by UNESCO. immortal, transformed into a Ridge Underwater Museum. tons of water in the container. To this end, the local gov­ crane and flew away. The data provides scientifi­ And the museum has 23 view­ ernment has invested nearly The regular exposure of the cally valuable information ing windows allowing around 80 million yuan to upgrade stone ridge also provided the about water transportation in 40 visitors to view the ridge at the museum’s exhibition hall, ancient people with the the Yangtze River and water the same time. It also has 28 surrounding areas and its chance to observe and record conservancy projects, espe­ underwater cameras, ena­ facilities. water levels. cially for the Gezhouba Dam, bling visitors to zoom in and If its UNESCO bid is suc­ So, on the huge rock there the first one on the river built out using touch­screens. cessful, the museum will are 18 sculptures of fish that in 1971 and the later Three Visitors are also allowed to become Chongqing’s second serve as water­level markers Gorges Dam, he adds. dive into the container to World Cultural Heritage site, and record 1,200 years of In addition to its scientific explore the works up close. after the Dazu Grottoes that changes in the Yangtze’s water value, the ridge inscriptions Over the past decade, the were listed in 1999. levels. showcase a collection of museum has worked with “We need to do more There are also more than works by generations of Chinese universities and tech research on the project and 30,000 Chinese characters exceptional calligraphers and companies to develop new increase our communication carved into the rock there, and authors. technologies to protect the with the international com­ the area is listed as one of four When the ridge was cultural relics. munity to ensure more people State­level national treasures exposed in the past, many “Our water recycling sys­ are aware of the significance in the Yangtze River’s Three would write or inscribe poems tem and deep­water lighting of these inscriptions,” Huang Gorges area. on the rocks. system have greatly improved said. The ridge is believed to be About 700 visitors have left the preservation of the relics,” Since its opening in 2009, the world’s most ancient their names and more than Huang said. the museum has received hydrographic survey station. 300 literati etched over In the early days, the muse­ about 1.5 million visitors from Due to the Three Gorges 30,000 characters in eight cal­ A night view of the underwater museum. um had to shut down periodi­ home and abroad. Dam project, the huge rock ligraphic forms there. The cally due to the deteriorating The museum has held two was submerged in 2001. So, a most celebrated work was water quality in the container international symposiums special museum was built to carved by Song Dynasty (960­ more than 30 meters of water. tainer” plan devised by Ge tors from the riverbank allow and a massive growth of algae since 2009 and collaborated preserve its history. 1279) scholar Huang Tingjian. China then immediately Xiurun was adopted in Febru­ visitors to descend and view on the rock. But now the with the School of Archaeolo­ launched a massive operation ary 2001. the stone carvings and water recycling system can gy and Museology of Peking Valuable relics Innovative preservation to save the area’s cultural rel­ Ge, an academician with inscriptions through glass balance the pressure in the University to conduct the There is a long history of In August 1988, the White ics before they were lost due to the Chinese Academy of Engi­ windows. container and purify the research on the White Crane human hydrographic obser­ Crane Ridge Inscriptions were the rising waters. neering and a professor at the “There is no precedent for water. Ridge inscriptions. vation dating back to ancient made a key national cultural The measures for the pro­ Shanghai Jiao Tong Universi­ this,” says Ge. Also, the system collects Speaking about the site, Yu times. And the records are relic. But soon its existence tection of the White Crane ty, worked out a plan for a “We had to rely on ourselves data about the river water lev­ Xintao, a visitor from Chong­ found in the Nile River basin, faced a critical challenge. Ridge were both unique and museum based on the pres­ to find the solutions.” el and flow speed in order to qing, says: “This museum is a the Euphrates River valley In 1992, the country decid­ technically demanding. sure­free container principle. The arch is made of special reduce the impact of the water hidden gem of Chongqing, or and China’s Yellow River ed to build the Three Gorges “We spent 10 years finding Under his plan, the stone kind of steel which offers pro­ pressure on the ridge. even for China. basin. Dam on the Yangtze River, the out the best way to preserve ridge is enclosed in an arch­ tection from ships weighing “We inject 20 tons of puri­ “I spent hours there, Yet the stone fish water world’s largest hydropower this rock.” says Huang. shaped glass covering, filled up to 4,000 tons. fied water into the container amazed by the wisdom of our gauge on White Crane Ridge is project. And according to the “And we are still working with purified water. In order to protect the every hour,” says Huang. “It is ancestors and the brilliant a key development in the plan, normal water levels on new technology to protect This ensures that the pres­ inscriptions from erosion, a huge amount of work.” design of the museum.” world’s ancient hydrographic would be raised to 175 meters the relics.” sure on both sides of the arch experts from the Institute of In addition, divers go into observation. It shows the low­ above sea level, which meant Chinese experts proposed is the same. Archaeology of the Chinese the container to clean the rock Contact the writer at water mark as a fish’s eye, and that the White Crane Ridge seven protection schemes Meanwhile, two underwa­ Academy of Social Sciences every month. tanyingzi@ equates to a zero­water level would be submerged under before the “Pressure­free Con­ ter corridors with long escala­ used resilient ethyl silicate to The container is equipped chinadaily.com.cn The facade of the above­water part of the Baiheliang Underwater Museum, built in 2009 to protect a 1,600­meter­long natural ridge with inscriptions on it, a key national cultural relic..