Three Gorges Museum

Opened 2005, this is the museum built specifically to preserve artifacts from the Three Gorges Dam's pre-flooding archaeological rescue (1994-2003). 280,000+ objects spanning 100,000 years of Yangtze settlement. 5 floors: Three Gorges geology, Bayu (early Chongqing) civilization, Han bronzes, Tang Buddhist art, calligraphy. The Wartime Capital Hall covers Chongqing 1937-1945. Free entry with passport. 3-4 hours. Faces People's Square + Great Hall of the People across the plaza — combine for half-day. The Yangtze Three Gorges video room shows aerial footage of the pre-dam landscape, narrated in English. Skip if you've seen too many provincial museums.