The third-longest river in the world, the Yangtze River flows east through 3,700 miles of China's terrain and into the East China Sea near Shanghai. About a thousand miles upstream from Shanghai is the scenic Three Gorges area, where the Yangtze River runs through three spectacular gorges at the foot of graceful mountains. The Qutang, Wuxia and Xiling Gorges, collectively known as the Three Gorges, are one of the top ten scenic spots in China. They fascinate visitors with wonders both natural and manmade- there are spectacular mountains and rivers as well as the largest hydroelectric project in the world.

One thousand kilometers upstream from the Three Gorges is Chongqing, the most populous city in China and a tourism destination that is rich in cultural heritage and local flavor.

In today's On the Road, we will take you to Chongqing to see the Three Gorges Museum, which boasts six themed displays designed to introduce and preserve the local culture and history.

Here's our guide Yun Feng.

The China Three Gorges Museum is the biggest thematic museum in the country. It is situated opposite the People's Hall in downtown Chongqing and is known as one of Asia's 10 most prominent buildings of the 20th century, with the People's Square in between.

This museum occupies a whole area of 42,000 square meters, and its exhibition hall covers about 23,000 square meters. As a comprehensive museum of art and history, the museum was completed and officially opened to the public in 2005.

Drawing inspiration from the design of the Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydropower project in the world, its main building is arc-shaped.

The sandstone walls of the building stand for mountains and the huge blue veil wall represents water, depicting the major natural features of Chongqing—mountains and water.

A cambered and vitreous "Ecological Corridor," another striking sight, at the main entrance of the museum is extremely impressive.

The China Three Gorges Museum has a collection of more than 170,000 precious cultural relics displayed in four thematic exhibition halls.

Liu Chunming, the museum's vice-curator, says that different exhibition halls reveal different aspects of the historical origins of Chongqing and the Three Gorges scenic area.

"The first thematic exhibition is 'The Splendid Three Gorges.' From this display, you can have a general picture of the natural geographical and cultural environments of the Three Gorges region and the basic situation of the Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydro-electric project in the world. The second one is 'Far-Ancient Bayu,' introducing the local history of Chongqing and the Three Gorges before the Han Dynasty 2,000 years ago. The theme of the third display is 'The Urban Development of Chongqing,' which presents the modern history of Chongqing. The forth one is called 'Anti-Japanese Invasion Days' and tells stories that occurred during the war of resistance against Japanese aggression."

The Three Gorges and its surrounding areas are believed to be one of the cradles of Chinese civilization. The museum itself is of great historic value in presenting the regional differences between southern and northern China. In "The Splendid Three Gorges" presentation, the remote and profound Yangtze River civilization is perfectly illustrated by well-preserved cultural relics.

For instance, a large number of local relics which were once submerged in the river when the Three Gorges Dam was being built are protected and displayed in the museum.

Wang Chuanping is in charge of relic's protection in Chongqing.

"In this exhibition hall, you will start to know the ecological environment of the Three Gorges and the special relationship between nature and human beings in that region. Take the boat tracker stones as an example. The stones are quite valuable because they witnessed the real living conditions of boat trackers in the Three Gorges region. The deep rifts on the stones worn by towropes are the best evidence. In addition, we also put the rock which is cut from the cliff in Qutangxia, one of the three gorges, on display in the hall, which has been well-received by visitors."