Located on a prominent site at the confluence of the Jialing and Yangtze Rivers, this 9 million-square-foot mixed-use project has a strong presence as the apex of the city's peninsula. The Chaotian Gate ("gate to heaven"?), foremost of the traditional city gates, is a place of both ceremony and commerce. Recalling sailing ships on the river, the project symbolizes both Chongqing's noble trading past and its fast-growing future as one of China's largest modern cities. An ensemble of slender towers contains a mixture of office, residential, and hotel spaces. The towers, arranged in a prow-like arc, imply a great city surging forward. The outer curving glass facades, which face the water to the north, evoke an ancient sailing fleet. The south-facing facades of the interior towers center on the axis of Chaotianmen Plaza, forming stepped gardens that meet the ground. At the base of the towers, an expansive park knits together the greenery from the building facades with gardens, pools, and public circulation. This large landscaped park gently slopes to the north, offering dramatic tower-framed views of the water and more intimate views of the city to the south. Beneath the park level, a podium contains five levels of public space, including retail and cultural facilities as well as land and water transportation hubs. Bridging the center towers at level 45 is a 300-meter-long enclosed glass conservatory that contains hotel public areas and amenities, including an deck that can be enjoyed throughout all seasons of the year. Major thoroughfares feed urban activity from the south as retail streets and grand arcades, fusing the project to the city.

Crystal Bridges, both a museum and a cultural center, is located in a ravine with a creek fed by Crystal Springs. Two suspended-cable-and-wood buildings span the ravine, creating two ponds. These structures serve as dams as well as bridges.

The design protects the natural beauty of the site and emphasizes a strong sense of place, employing indigenous materials such as wood, fieldstone, and limestone aggregate. Building walls are concrete with wood inlays, and laminated wood beams compose the roofs. The liberal use of glass throughout the complex provides transparency and enhances views of the site.

The museum comprises a number of independent structures that form a series of pavilions over and alongside the ponds. The two bridge buildings are located at opposite ends of the north pond. The gallery bridge contains galleries while the entry bridge houses reception, dining, and hospitality facilities. The great hall, a multipurpose public space, is surrounded on three sides by the south pond. Additional structures, nestled into the sloping terrain on both sides of the ravine, contain galleries, function rooms, classrooms, a library, curatorial spaces, and administrative offices. In contrast to the convex roofs of the bridges, the concave roofs of these structures visually retain the steep slopes of the site.