The Chinese Sturgeon Museum is a part of the Chinese Sturgeon Garden that is located in Xiaoxita Town, in Yichang of Hubei Province. The museum was set up in 1982 by the Chinese Sturgeon Research Institute, which uses artificial breeding techniques to try to preserve this endangered species.
The Chinese sturgeon is strictly protected by the Chinese govement. It has a history of 140 million years, and is thought to have lived at the same time as dinosaurs, eaing it the nickname "living fossil". The Chinese sturgeon can grow up to 4 meters (13 feet) in length, weighs up to more than 1000 pounds, and ranks the biggest of all species of sturgeon in the world.
The Chinese sturgeon mainly resides in the tributaries of the Yangtze River and in some coastal rivers. Between summer and autumn every year, they swim in schools upstream to the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, even further than Chongqing, where they breed. After, they swim downstream where the young grow in the China East Sea and the Yellow Sea.
The Chinese Sturgeon Museum features not only Chinese sturgeon but also Russia sturgeon, American Paddlefish, Amur sturgeon, Hybrid sturgeon and many more. Other wildlife includes the Chinese alligator, also called Yangtze alligator, along with the giant salamander and mullet.
