An exhibition was unveiled to respond to the fifth anniversary of the success of Liangzhu Ancient City in bidding for the status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On July 9, “World Cultural Heritage in China” was opened in the temporary exhibition hall of Liangzhu Museum.

The exhibition comprises four parts, namely “Start”, “Flowers”, “Stars” and “Journey”. Each of them shows an episode of China’s collaborations with UNESCO in previous years, such as the reason and endeavors of China for admission to the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage in early years, how China’s cultural and natural heritages were put in the World Heritage List, the Chinese archaeological sites as the world’s cultural heritage, and the new progress Liangzhu Ancient City has made after its success in World Heritage application.

The exhibition brings together 45 items (pieces or sets) from 11 museums or facilities, including the Palace Museum, the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Science Communication Center of the China Association for Science and Technology, Guizhou Museum, and the Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology (Shaanxi Archaeological Museum). Oracle bones, bronze square vessels, bronze geese and kneeling figurines discovered in the Mausoleum of the Emperor Shihuang of the Qin Dynasty, seals of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, etc. are included, marking the brilliance and diversity of China’s cultural heritage and its timelessness. 

Many of the collection, such as the color-painted pottery figurines of the ethnic people with camels, the color-painted pottery camels, and the like from the Silk Road, are unveiled for the first time. It is also the debut of a stone Buddha head unearthed from Longmen Grottoes. The collection will lead to a “dialogue” that oversees time and space.

The exhibition also shows the images of 39 world cultural heritage sites and 4 natural and cultural heritage sites in China. It is one of the event series in celebration of the 2024 “Liangzhu Day” and will close on October 31.