Wuhan Yangtze River Crossing Museum

Between 1956 and 1966, Mao Zedong swam the Yangtze River forty-three times, challenging the swift currents of Wuhan. His first plunge on May 31, 1956, occurred after his guard, Sun Yong, swam the river first to prove its safety. This daring tradition shaped the city's identity, culminating in the annual Wuhan International Yangtze River Crossing Festival.

Today, the Wuhan Yangtze River Crossing Museum stands on the central axis of Hankou Jiangtan Park, directly opposite the Wuhan Flood Prevention Memorial Monument. Converted from a 1996 viewing platform, this forty-two-meter-tall Soviet-style structure officially opened on December 14, 2016. Its design features a five-bay colonnade and a tripartite tower. To survive summer floods, the ground floor rests on open concrete pilotis, allowing the rushing river to flow harmlessly through the building.

Inside, the museum preserves the physical traces of this relationship with the water. Visitors encounter eighteen pieces of photographic equipment donated by Qian Sijie, Mao’s personal photographer, alongside his original negatives. In the lobby, the massive semi-panoramic oil painting, Crossing the Ten-Thousand-Li Yangtze, captures the scale of the river. Nearby, an eighteen-meter-wide miniature model contains 677 clay figures, each hand-sculpted to represent the cheering crowds of the crossing festival. On the fourth floor, exhibits honor the Yangtze River Rescue Volunteer Team, who pulled over two hundred swimmers from the dangerous currents in 2014.

Outside, the thirty-meter-long "66-716" transport vessel remains permanently moored. Mao boarded this ship on July 16, 1966, to inspect the eleventh crossing event, marking his final swim.

During the summer months of July and August, the museum extends its hours until 8:30 PM. Visitors climb to the stepped rooftop terraces, feeling the cool evening breeze. From this three-tiered panoramic platform, they watch the illuminated riverbanks.