Gems from the Ancient Silk Route of Xinjiang

Time: February 3th to March 28th, 2010
Venue: Guangzhou Museum
Admission: 10 yuan

Adventurous tourists and people in love with the tales of the Silk Road all know Xinjiang for its breath-taking natural scenery and rich cultural diversity, the fruit of centuries of cultural exchanges, invasions, and commerce. Located in the northwest of modern China, for centuries Xinjiang was an important place for caravans traveling between eastern China, India, the Middle East, and ultimately Europe.

Currently on display at the Guangzhou Museum are a collection of 95 national-level treasures lent by the Museum of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. They include mortuary porcelains from emperors' tombs, transcripts of ancient languages including Chinese, coins and jewelries.

Mortuary porcelain: horse



Map of the Silk Road

Golden waist belt with lion patterns. Lions were regarded as a symbol of power in ancient times, a belief introduced to China from the Xiyu area (Central Asia and Eastern Europe)

Mortuary porcelain: miniature carriage

(By Jessie Huang, David Keyton)

Source: Lifeofguangzhou.com

Editor: Jessie Hwang