3 museums set to stage exhibition to showcase common heritage

A total of 600 cultural relics will be shown at an upcoming joint exhibition at three museums in Beijing, Tianjin and Shijiazhuang. The exhibits will feature gold ware, jade ornaments, paintings, enamel pieces and other exquisite items. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Three neighboring province-level museums in northern China will simultaneously kick off a major exhibition to mark the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year and showcase a shared history of folklore and customs.

The House of Gold and Jade: Exhibition of Ancient Life in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, which will begin on Jan 20 and run through Feb 19, will display a total of 600 cultural relics from the Capital Museum in Beijing, the Tianjin Museum and the Hebei Museum in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province.

Each museum will host one part of the display, which will include gold ware, jade ornaments, paintings, enamel pieces and other exquisite items representing the region's state-of-the-art craftsmanship.

"The idea of having different parts of the same exhibition in separate museums is unprecedented in China," Qi Mei, chief curator of the exhibition from the Capital Museum, says.

"The artifacts were chosen to echo the New Year," she says.

The display in the Capital Museum focuses on daily-use articles and includes a gold plate with reliefs of auspicious animals (from Beijing) and a jade decoration with carved birds and flowers (from Hebei), both from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Other items include personal seals, bracelets and stationery.

Traditional Chinese New Year paintings from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) also form part of the exhibits in this section.

"Earlier, less attention was paid to these paintings. But as holders of crucial historical information, they are very significant. The New Year paintings record daily life and offer us first-hand information about folk customs," Qi says.