On October 26, 2022, an international symposium “Across Time and Space: The Silk Road and the Silk City” was opened at the William Paterson University in New Jersey, United States. The symposium runs two days. Examining the history of the famous Silk Road, with the American “Silk City” of Paterson at its core, the symposium focuses on the temporal and spatial extension of the historical coordinates of the Silk Road and its connection to the development of China and the United States in culture, education, art, industry, and commerce since the 18th century. The symposium features academic presentations and discussions, art exhibitions, and more.
Huang Ping, the Chinese consul general in New York, and Richard J. Helldobler, President of William Paterson University (WP) attended the opening ceremony and delivered the remarks. Keynote speakers included Feng Zhao, honorary director of the China National Silk Museum; Ben Marsh, professor with the School of History in the University of Kent, United Kingdom; and Stephen Hahn, professor emeritus of English with the William Paterson University. Many professors and researchers from universities and cultural institutions from China, United States, and United Kingdom attended the symposium online and in person.
During the two-day event, two exhibitions are on view at WP's Center for Chinese Art and the Paterson Museum: A Durable Thread: The Silk Road from China to America and Textile Arts from Guizhou of China. Meanwhile, two online exhibitions Silk and the Silk Road: From Hangzhou to Paterson and The Unbounded Silk Road: Artworks of the Chinese-American Art Faculty Association were hosted online.
Sources: Xinhua News Agency, William Paterson University