China Builds Museum to Mark Massive Dam Migration

China is building a museum in a Yangtze River city to remember the migration of 1.35 million people to give way for the construction of the world’s largest water control facility Three Gorges Dam.

The Three Gorges Museum, covering an area of 50 mu (3.35 hectares), will open in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality by the end of this year, local authorities said Sunday. Construction is set to be finished by June.

The museum is built to hail the spirit of devotion of the people living along the Yangtze River who migrated out of their hometown before it was flooded by surging water levels after the construction of Three Gorges Dam.

Chongqing officials say the museum will recount the massive resettlement in words, sound, graphic, sculptures and other art forms.

The Three Gorges dam is the world’s largest water control facility, built with a budget of 180 billion yuan (about $22.5 billion) for more than a decade. A total of 1.35 million people were relocated to make way for the project.