The exhibition Convergence of Civilizations: Dunhuang on the Silk Road opened at the China National Silk Museum on July 12, 2023. The exhibition is hosted by China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration and the Zhejiang provincial government, and organised by the China National Silk Museum, with participation from several members of the International Alliance of Museums of the Silk Road (IAMS), including Dunhuang Academy, Dunhuang Museum, Gansu Provincial Museum, Zhejiang Provincial Museum, Lushun Museum and others. The exhibition features over 170 pieces (sets) of cultural relics, including over 30 pieces (sets) of first-grade cultural relics, focused on the pearl of the Silk Road—Dunhuang.
Throughout history, the Silk Road has been a major international corridor connecting East and West and a bridge between Europe and Asia, playing an important role in the economic and cultural exchanges between China and other countries. Bordering China’s central plains to the east and Xinjiang to the west, the ancient city of Dunhuang held a vital geostrategic position on the Silk Road as a flourishing city that all Silk Road travellers must pass through. It was the brightest star on the Silk Road and a place where “emissaries met on the road and commerce never ceased”.
Under the central theme of “Dunhuang on the Silk Road”, the exhibition leverages painted bricks, bamboo slips, silk fabrics, stone pagodas, sutra scrolls, ceramic figurines and other relics to showcase Dunhuang’s glorious history on the Silk Road from several perspectives, including political and military, economic and trade, everyday life, and spiritual and religious beliefs. The exhibition also features an innovative section on the cultural integration and mutual assistance between Dunhuang and Zhejiang province, enabling visitors to comprehensively experience the profound history, inclusive mindset and diverse cultures of ancient Dunhuang.
The exhibition is open until August 22.
Source: China National Silk Museum