Have the Sphinx and pyramids arrived at the foot of the Great Wall in Beijing?

This mouthwatering cultural crossover comes to pass courtesy of a special exhibition which marks a first of its kind.

The Exhibition of Ancient Egyptian Treasures showcases some 143 cultural relics, all of which are regarded as top-level relics in their country of origin.

The event is sponsored by China National Museum and Jiangsu Province Performing Art Group, with the support of the Egyptian Embassy in Beijing.

"This is the first time that such a great amount of Egyptian cultural relics have been shown in China," said Aly El-Hefny, ambassador of the Egyptian Embassy in Beijing.

It's also the first time that quite so many Egyptian relics have been provided for exhibition abroad: "Before now, our government provided at most 139 such national treasures to be shown in the United States," El-Hefny said.

Most of the exhibits are kept in the National Museum of Egypt and have never been exhibited abroad.

Included amongst them are some which were lost overseas, among them a sculpture of a cobra that was returned to Egypt from the United States after being recovered.

Before going back to Egypt, it is first being shipped to Beijing to join the show.

Since arriving in the China National Museum, after being painstakingly transported under the watchful eye of Egyptian experts, the exhibits have been scrupulously guarded and kept at the required temperature and humidity during their stay in China's capital.

They have been insured up to a value of some US$ 2,600 million, according to Xia Yun, PR chairman of Jiangsu Performing Art Group, a key organizer of the event.

"We have invested some 20 million yuan (US$2.4 million) into the exhibition. We hope that our investment can get some returns from the ticket proceeds," Xia said.

Before the Beijing show, the exhibition was held in Shanghai for a month, during which some 360,000 visitors came to take a glimpse into ancient Egypt's mystic past.

A confident Xia predicted: "We believe that visitors in Beijing will surely surpass that figure."

The organizing committee has received numerous inquiries from people outside Beijing who plan to travel to the capital to appreciate real Egyptian relics with their own eyes.

All the exhibits belong to the age of the Pharaohs, dating from 3500 BC to 332 BC. They include sculptures of Pharaohs, kings and queens, immortals and officials, as well as daily utensils such as bowls, furniture, jewellery and musical instruments.

They are made of various elements such as gold, granite, copper, lacquer, alabaster, wood and ceramics.

"They reflect the lives of ancient people in that age, of their living styles, their religions, their happiness and sorrow, as well as their beliefs in an afterlife," explained Aly El-Hefny.

The main aim of the exhibition, according to the ambassador, is to strengthen culture communication and exchanges among peoples. "Egypt, as one of the earliest and greatest civilizations in the world, boasts some 120,000 pieces of cultural relics," he said. "Every day new cultural relics are being found in the soil."

He added: "I would be most happy to see people in Beijing enjoy with their own eyes the real cultural relics from Egypt, instead of merely seeing them via pictures or written words in books."

Tickets: 50 yuan (US$6), 30 yuan (US$4) for students with identification card

Time/date: 8:30 am to 5 pm, December 5 to January 5, 2004

Location: the Fifth Hall of China National Museum, to the east of Tian'anmen Square

Tel: 6514-2240, 6526-3355 ext 2036, 6298-8535
 

(Beijing Weekend December 5, 2003)