Underwater world

Innovative preservation

In August 1988, the White Crane Ridge Inscriptions were made a key national cultural relic. But soon its existence faced a critical challenge.

In 1992, the country decided to build the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, the world's largest hydropower project. And according to the plan, normal water levels would be raised to 175 meters above sea level, which meant that the White Crane Ridge would be submerged under more than 30 meters of water.

China then immediately launched a massive operation to save the area's cultural relics before they were lost due to the rising waters.

The measures for the protection of the White Crane Ridge were both unique and technically demanding.

"We spent 10 years finding out the best way to preserve this rock." says Huang.

"And we are still working on new technology to protect the relics."

Chinese experts proposed seven protection schemes before the "Pressure-free Container" plan devised by Ge Xiurun was adopted in February 2001.

Ge, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a professor at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, worked out a plan for a museum based on the pressure-free container principle.

Under his plan, the stone ridge is enclosed in an arch-shaped glass covering, filled with purified water.

This ensures that the pressure on both sides of the arch is the same.

Meanwhile, two underwater corridors with long escalators from the riverbank allow visitors to descend and view the stone carvings and inscriptions through glass windows.

"There is no precedent for this," says Ge.

"We had to rely on ourselves to find the solutions."