A Special Exhibition of Ancient Syrian Civilization

April 18, 2023, A Special Exhibition of Ancient Syrian Civilization was presented in Shanxi Museum and officially opened to the public with the support of AEC and the Shanxi Provincial Bureau of Cultural Heritage.

This exhibition is the fifth stop of the Syrian exhibition tour to China and is divided into 4 sections: “Dawn: Stone Age”, “Change: Bronze Age”, “Collision: Iron Age” and “Fusion: Greek, Roman and Islamic Ages”, showing the 500,000-year-long historical and cultural changes of Syria in the Stone, Bronze, Iron, Greek, Roman and Islamic Ages. The last room of the exhibition tells the story of cultural exchanges and trades between China and Syria in the history through “Dialogue: Friendship between China and Syria”.

Civilizations are enriched by exchange and mutual appreciation. Syria is located at the intersections of Asia, Africa and Europe, where many cultures collided and mingled, forming a unique and fascinating ancient civilization. The exhibition presents 195 pieces/groups of exquisite cultural objects from 9 Syrian museums, including the National Museum in Damascus, Aleppo Museum and 3 Chinese museums, including statues of worshipers, Assyrian frescoes, lapis lazuli necklaces and other precious objects from Syria.

Distance cannot separate true friends who feel so close even when are thousands of miles apart. The Silk Road linked Syria and China, which were separated by thousands of miles. For thousands of years, the two countries have been in constant communication, trade and cultural exchanges, and continue to do so today. To showcase the exchanges and mutual appreciation of these two civilizations, the exhibition also presents a stone tablet rubbing of The Nestorian Monument in China from the Xi’an Beilin Museum, a carved stone monument from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Museum, and a copy of the Syriac Bible - Psalms from the Dunhuang Research Institute to demonstrate the long friendship between China and the countries along the “Belt and Road”.

The exhibition will be on display until July 9, 2023.