Underwater world

Heritage list application

In 2006 and 2012, the White Crane Ridge inscriptions were added to the provisional list of World Cultural Heritage sites that China submitted to the UNESCO.

And in recent years, Chongqing has begun to enhance its efforts to get the site formally recognized by UNESCO.

To this end, the local government has invested nearly 80 million yuan to upgrade the museum's exhibition hall, surrounding areas and its facilities.

If its UNESCO bid is successful, the museum will become Chongqing's second World Cultural Heritage site, after the Dazu Grottoes that were listed in 1999.

"We need to do more research on the project and increase our communication with the international community to ensure more people are aware of the significance of these inscriptions," Huang said.

Since its opening in 2009, the museum has received about 1.5 million visitors from home and abroad.

The museum has held two international symposiums since 2009 and collaborated with the School of Archaeology and Museology of Peking University to conduct the research on the White Crane Ridge inscriptions.

Speaking about the site, Yu Xintao, a visitor from Chongqing, says: "This museum is a hidden gem of Chongqing, or even for China.

"I spent hours there, amazed by the wisdom of our ancestors and the brilliant design of the museum."