The Changjiang Civilization Museum on Tuesday signed a contract to join the Global Water Museum Network.

The museum in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei province, is the second Chinese museum to join the network after the National Water Museum of China.

The signing took place during the 2018 Great Rivers Forum (GRF), which concluded on Tuesday.

The Global Water Museum Network proposed by Italy last year aims to encourage member institutions to protect their rich and unique water heritage and present them to the world.

In June, the initiative was approved by the UNESCO International Hydrological Program. It now includes more than 60 museums and research centers around the world.

Philippe Pypaert, a specialist with UNESCO Beijing Office, said he welcomed the museum into the network, commenting that China has devoted much effort to protecting rivers in recent years.

Wu Hongtang, curator of the Changjiang Civilization Museum, said the museum, which opened in September 2015, exhibits and studies the ecology and civilization of the Yangtze River and other major rivers in the world. With more than 9,000 pieces in their collections, the museum had by the end of 2017 received 1.9 million people.

Running from Oct. 28 to 30, the 2018 Great Rivers Forum was held under the theme of "Confluence: Great Rivers Civilizations-High Quality Development for a Sustainable Future."

The forum is jointly organized by the municipal government of Wuhan and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) through its Beijing office.