Chongqing - A combination of the Qingming Festival and the spring break for primary and secondary school students helped drive a record 68,000 visitors to the main venue of the Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum over the three-day holiday from April 4 to 6, the museum reported on April 7.
Visitors take part in the "Flowers for the Great Soul – Qingming Remembrance" activity. (Photo provided by the interviewee)
The daily average of about 22,700 visitors represented a 51.11% increase from the same period last year, when the museum saw 45,000 visitors.
Capacity Management
The museum activated a "dynamic monitoring plus temporary flow restriction" system to manage the surge. When the number of visitors inside the venue approached the 4,000-person threshold, announcements were broadcast to remind visitors and security personnel initiated crowd-control measures. The zigzag queuing route was optimized, and phased entry and zone-specific capacity limits were implemented to ease congestion.
Security staff were deployed at full capacity throughout the holiday, with increased patrols in key areas to ensure the safety of both visitors and cultural relics.
"The queue time was shorter than I expected, and it wasn't as crowded inside as I thought it would be," said Mr. Liu, a tourist from Guiyang who traveled to Chongqing specifically for the museum's exhibitions.
Interactive Activities for Families
The museum's educational programs attracted many families. In the "Gorge Spring Thoughts - Cultural Qingming at the Museum" themed event, children gathered in the gallery to learn about Chongqing's history during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937–1945). A parent-child activity titled "Flying Kites, Remembering the Past" allowed families to create brocade photo frames featuring both artifact patterns and kite motifs.
A guide explains the "Days during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression " exhibition to visitors. (Photo provided by the interviewee)
At another activity station, visitors learned the traditional rubbing technique to make prints of the museum's collection piece "Swallow on a Willow," by artist Yuan Tianchi from the Republic of China era (1912–1949).
Soong Ching-ling Memorial Residence in Chongqing, located on the museum grounds, hosted a remembrance activity titled "Flowers for the Great Soul – Qingming Remembrance," which attracted more than 2,000 participants. Families with children accounted for over 70% of those taking part in interactive projects such as commemorative badge making, seal-stamping challenges, and puzzle games.
Creative Products Drive Sales
The museum's cultural and creative products were among the holiday's highlights. The "Tiger Roar" blind boxes - inspired by the museum's signature bronze artifact, a tiger-shaped button on a percussion instrument called the Hu Niu Chun Yu - became the top-selling product across all categories. Some versions sold out by the afternoon of April 5, though visitors continued to ask whether more were available.
The "Tiger Roar" blind boxes became the top-selling product across all categories.. (Photo provided by the interviewee)
The museum's architectural ice cream, which replicates the exterior of the building, also proved popular, with many tourists posing for photos in front of the museum gate while holding the treat. One university student bought three at once, commenting, "It tastes good and looks great in pictures - a nice souvenir of the visit."
Other best-selling items included themed refrigerator magnets carrying auspicious symbols - "abundance year after year" and "mastery of both pen and sword" - as well as commemorative magnets featuring the museum’s architecture. Overall revenue from Bayu cultural creative products increased by 9% year-on-year during the holiday, according to museum statistics.
At the Chongqing Baiheliang Underwater Museum, enthusiasm was equally high. The thousand-year-old underwater inscriptions fascinated many visitors, while the "Fu-Fish" series of plush creative products, inspired by Baiheliang cultural elements, sold briskly. A visitor from Shanghai bought a set of Fu-Fish badges, saying, "I came just to see the underwater stone inscriptions, but I ended up falling for this little fish."
Community Outreach
The museum extended its reach beyond its main venue. The Three Gorges Cultural Relics Science and Technology Protection Base partnered with nearby communities, including Danlong Road, Dashilu, and Hailu Road, to offer "Spring Break Fun" public welfare activities. A cozy reading corner was opened, and themed activities such as "The April Days in the Human World" along with calendar-making craft sessions allowed children to experience the museum’s cultural atmosphere close to home.
"I used to think the museum was far away," said a resident of Danlong Road who brought her grandson to the activities. "Now we can come here after just a few steps - the child is happy, and I have peace of mind."