Today ，Exhibition of Cultural Relics Unearthed in Xinjiang open to public with a grand opening ceremony at Henan Museum. The exhibition consists mainly of three parts with a foreword as following:

  

Foreword:

The Silk Road was the principal traffic route for silk trading from China through the Western Regions to Central Asia, India, West Asia and the east bank of the Mediterranean in the Han and Tang Dynasties. It stretched from east to west for thousands of kilometers, going through mountains, deserts, prairies, and oasis and connecting Asia and Europe together. First opened when Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions, it reached its prime time in the Tang Dynasty. Being a main artery of the Eurasia Continent, it was not only the most important commercial passage between the east and west in ancient times, but also a bridge bringing together different human cultures from different places, through which a great number of amazing inventions were spread around.

Xinjiang, referred to as the Western Regions in ancient times, was the communications center on the Silk Road and had been a place anyone travelling between east and west must go through. Thanks to its dry climate and special geographical conditions, a lot of antiquities thousands of years old had been kept intact and were unearthed by archaeologists. They not only record the great geological and historical changes through thousands of years and reveal the magnificence of the culture of the Western Regions, but also are of great academic value in the study of nationalities, trade, communications and cultural exchanges on the Silk Road. These amazing relics have been on the show in Japan, the United States and a number of European countries, attracting millions of visitors. Of course, the itinerant exhibition in China also has established a far-reaching reputation.

In cooperation with the Bureau of Cultural Relics of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum, and the Institute of Archaeology of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Henan presents this great exhibition “Legacies of the Silk Road: Exhibition of Cultural Relics Unearthed in Xinjiang”. 143 pieces of cultural relics, including the mummy of “Kroraina Beauty”, painted pottery, textiles of the Han and Tang Dynasties, documents of the 3rd century, gold and silver wares of the Tang Dynasty, Buddhist murals, and coins. This is the first time for the historical cultural relics from Xinjiang to be exhibited in Henan, and it is believed that they will bring much enjoyment and nurturing to the museum visitors. Hopefully, Henan citizens will get a new perspective for the Silk Road through such a close touch with the long history of the northwestern bordering areas as well as the mysterious charm of the Western Regions, and better understand and pay more attention to this attractive place in the west part of China.

                                                                                           Loulan mummy

                 Beauty of Loulan                                                                                Pottery used by the locals

  

Unit One   Ancestors of the Silk Road

Opening of the Silk Road in the Han and Tang Dynasties

  

From 2000 B.C to 2 B.C., before the opening up of the Silk Road by Zhang Qian, the history of Xinjiang is referred to as the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. In this period of about 2000 years, two ethnic groups, east and west, settled in Xinjiang. They had migrated to Xinjiang from different directions and places at different times, with which the earliest cultural exchange between the east and west started well before the Silk Road Age. Archaeological discoveries in Kroraina (Loulan), Litter River (Xiaohe) and Zagunluke etc. reveal the colorful historical scene of multi-national settlement in Xinjiang.

                                                             Relics unearthed  along the silk road

  

Unit Two  
Opening of the Silk Road in the Han and Tang Dynasties

  

In 139 B.C., Liu Che, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, sent Zhang Qian as his envoy to the Western Regions, and the Silk Road thus opened marked an new age of economic and cultural communication between the east and west. Since then, through the Wei-Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Silk Road prospered despite hundreds of years of wars. Being a major artery on the Eurasia Continent, it was not only the most important commercial passage between the east and west in ancient times, but also a channel for the gathering of human cultures and religions of different places. Many great inventions were spread around through this artery. Tremendous commercial, cultural, and art centers grew along the Road. When you see the treasures and relics found in the Niya Ruins, the ancient tomb group of Astara, the ancient tomb of Boma, and the Temple of Dandan ulik, you would perceive the prosperity of the Silk Road in the Han and Tang Dynasties.

                                                                                  Exquisite metal wares

  

Unit Three

Documents and Currencies on the Silk Road

  

Xinjiang archaeologists have discovered a large number of inscribed slips and tablets as well as ancient documents, written in Chinese and numerous ancient languages of the Western Regions. If it might be said that a jar, a piece of brocade, a tomb, and a ruin are the setting and props on the stage of history, these ancient documents would be the most lively lines and aside. They are the truest and realest description of history, recording the social, economic and cultural conditions along the Silk Road from various perspectives. Besides, a lot of ancient currencies are unearthed along the Silk Road as well. They not only demonstrate the material communication between the east and west, but also record information of cultural exchanges.

                                                                                  Documents and coins of the time