2024 marks the 10th anniversary of the inscription of “Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor” as a UNESCO World Heritage site. To celebrate this occasion, the exhibition When Dong’Ou Meets Kucha: Cultural Symphonies on the Silk Road was unveiled on August 9 at the Wenzhou Museum in China.
The exhibition is organized into three sections: “Kucha Grottoes: Buddhist Art of Land Silk Road”, “Ancient Port of Wenzhou: Intersection of Civilizations on Maritime Silk Road” and “Ancient Paths and Modern Echoes: Silk Road Spirit in Contemporary Era”. Featuring over 80 exhibits, the exhibition presents the exchanges between Kucha (in present-day Aksu prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region) and Dong’ou (present-day Wenzhou city, Zhejiang province), which exemplify the dialogue between civilizations on the land Silk Road and maritime Silk Road, and links them to the inheritance and innovation of the Silk Road spirit in the contemporary era. Through these sections, the exhibition showcases the history and culture of the Silk Road over the past two millennia.
The exhibition features 11 mural replicas from the Kucha Grottoes, where the original murals were painted from the 3rd to the 9th centuries CE. These mural paintings, mostly about Buddhist culture, illustrate the development of religion, art, music, dance and costumes in Kucha—a dazzling “jewel” on the Silk Road. These paintings are vividly presented to visitors through faithful reproductions by contemporary artists.
Kucha was a key hub on the ancient Silk Road. Kucha Grottoes, represented by the Kizil Grottoes, profoundly influenced the development of Chinese grotto art, including the famous Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang. Kucha had also significantly enriched the Buddhist culture in central Asia, embodying the exchanges, mutual learning and harmonious development between the eastern and western cultures along the Silk Road.
The ancient cities of Kucha and Wenzhou were located at the western and eastern ends of China. As the transportation hubs on the land and maritime Silk Roads, these cities bore witness to the harmonious co-existence and shared prosperity of ancient civilizations through exchanges and mutual learning.
Source: Wenzhou Metropolitan News
Image Source: Wenzhou Museum