Rare Chinese Relics To Be Showcased In Riyadh For The First Time

• ‘Treasures of China’ marks the first major cultural relic show that Beijing has organized in Saudi Arabia
• This mega Chinese exhibition is being organized within the framework of a memorandum of understanding signed by the Kingdom and China in January 2016

RIYADH: A major exhibition featuring the cultural history and heritage of China will be inaugurated jointly by Prince Sultan bin Salman, chief of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), and Li Huaxin, Chinese ambassador, in Riyadh on Sept. 12.

The exhibition, titled “Treasures of China,” marks the first major cultural relic show that Beijing has organized in Saudi Arabia, Huaxin said.

He said the seven-week Chinese exhibition, to be organized at the Saudi National Museum, will last until Nov. 23. 

The envoy said: “The exhibits will include 264 rare Chinese relics from 13 museums and cultural institutions of China.” It will also showcase objects from joint Chinese-Saudi archaeological excavations, including a large number of items on display overseas for the first time.

This mega Chinese exhibition is being organized within the framework of a memorandum of understanding signed by the Kingdom and China in January 2016, when President Xi Jinping visited Saudi Arabia. 

According to Xu He, curator of the exhibition from Art Exhibitions China, an organization in charge of Sino-foreign cultural relics exchange exhibitions, 13 institutions including the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Shaanxi History Museum in Xian, and the Luoyang Museum in Henan Province have sent contributions from their collections for the forthcoming exhibition in Riyadh.

“Many of the most globally recognized Chinese cultural relics have been chosen for the Riyadh exhibition, like the oldest artifact in China’s catalog — a pot dating back to 3000 BC which is decorated with images of human faces and fish,” said Xu. A two-meter-high figurine of an admiral was chosen for the exhibition to allow people to catch a glimpse of “Qinshihuang’s secret army,” he added.

In fact, the curator has shown an interest in selecting more items that show connectivity with the culture of Arabia. Xu said: “The ancient Silk Road was a crucial conduit for cultural communication between the Islamic world and China. This is why we have so many cultural relics in China that reflect the influence of Islamic culture,” He was referring to many exhibits showing camels, ceramics inscribed with Arabic words, and Islamic tombstones from Zayton (today’s Quanzhou, Fujian province).

Fahd Majed Alshareef, cultural attache at the Saudi Embassy in Beijing, said in a report published recently: “Saudi people have great expectations from the exhibition because it is a rare chance for us to see and understand traditional Chinese culture firsthand. The connection between China and Saudi Arabia is another example that shows how different civilizations and religions continue to maintain dialogue and learn from each other.”