A decade of Silk Road heritage: Shaanxi museum launches special exhibition

The Qin-Han Civilization Museum, a new branch of the Shaanxi History Museum, recently launched a themed exhibition commemorating the 10th anniversary of the country's successful application to have the Silk Road gain UNESCO World Heritage status.

The project dubbed "The Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor" refers to a route spanning over 8,700 kilometers, comprising 33 sites in China, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, along with the transportation and communication relationships among them.

On June 22, 2014, during the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee, China, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan successfully applied to have this inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

This exhibition, centered around 33 heritage sites, presents over 330 artifacts from various museums and archaeological sites in China and Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan's exhibits total 13 sets, featuring gold and silver ornaments unearthed from the Issyk-Kul mound site dating back to the 5th-4th centuries BC, juxtaposed with metal ornaments unearthed in China’s Shaanxi, reflecting the early grassland culture of the ancient Silk Road.

Exhibits from China mainly come from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Gansu, Shaanxi and Henan provinces, including Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) bamboo slips, sculptures, Tang Dynasty (618-907) tri-colored pottery, Tang Buddhist scriptures, Tang tower-shaped jars, and Tang silk paintings.

As one of the key exhibitions during the museum month, it will run until Nov 18.