On the afternoon of the 8th, a large-scale special exhibition titled “Long Clouds in the West Sea: Qinghai Road of the 6th to 8th Century Silk Road” was opened at the China Silk Museum located in the southern mountain of West Lake in Hangzhou, featuring phoenix patterns from the Central Plains, Greek mythological sun gods, and Persian style double winged crowns. Visitors can fully appreciate the cultural exchanges and mutual learning on the ancient Silk Road in the exhibits. This exhibition also kicked off the “2022 Silk Road Week” Starting from life and art, this article focuses on the historical value of the Qinghai Road of the Silk Road. During the national period, the transportation of the Hexi Corridor was often interrupted due to war, and the Qinghai Road took on the heavy responsibility of transportation from east to west.
The “West Sea Changyun Exhibition” is divided into four units, which respectively narrate the history of Tuyuhun, the lifestyle of Tuyuhun people, the rich heritage of the Qinghai Road on the Silk Road, and important archaeological achievements in Qinghai over the past 40 years. During the curatorial period, scholars from the Chinese Silk Museum, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Cultural Relics and Archaeology Department of Qinghai and Gansu provinces cooperated to sort out the academic history of Tuyuhun archaeology, focusing on the research and display of important cultural relics such as silk, gold and silver ware, coffin paintings, etc. The exhibition showcases a total of 107 exhibits, of which 82 are from Qinghai. Like the 2018 Xuewei Tomb No.1 in Dulan County, Qinghai Province, which was mistakenly rumored to be the “Nine story Demon Tower”, there are also unearthed cultural relics exhibited this time.
The “2022 Silk Road Week” is sponsored by the National Cutural Heritage Administration and the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province, and will also hold a series of exhibitions such as “Colorful Reproduction: Textile Cultural Relics Protection and Restoration Achievements Exhibition”, “Long Journey in Brocade: 6-8 Century Silk Road Clothing Restoration Exhibition”, etc.
At the same time, Qinghai Province and the Republic of Uzbekistan are invited as the guest of honor for this event. To this end, the cultural relics department of Qinghai Province will hold multiple exhibitions of archaeological achievements, academic training, and inspection activities in the local area of Qinghai. The China Silk Museum and the National Museum of Samarkand in Uzbekistan will collaborate to hold a special exhibition titled “Silk and the Silk Road: From Hangzhou to Samarkand”. (Reporter Feng Yuan)