A total of 41 Palace Museum artworks related to the ancient Silk Road and lion culture are on display at the exhibition in Shishi, Fujian province. [Photo/Xinhua]

An exhibition displaying spectacular artworks from the Palace Museum in Beijing, related to lion culture and the ancient Silk Road, is underway in Shishi, East China's Fujian province.

Jointly sponsored by the Shishi government and the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, the exhibition features 41 artworks and artifacts, including Buddha figures, seals, paintings,calligraphic works and some ancient Chinese study tools.

It is the first time for the Palace Museum to hold an exhibition in a county-level city, according to Zhou Yong, deputy director of the palace department at the museum.

One of the exhibition's themes - lion culture- coincides with the host city's name-Shishi, which literally means stone lions in Chinese, according to Lin Xiyan, director of the Shishi municipal department of publicity.

"Shishi is named after lions," she said, adding that the lion culture, that highlights strength, courage and perseverance, has inspired generations of Shishi people to persevere and forge ahead.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up and the 30th anniversary of Shishi's establishment, she added, pointing out that the hosting of the exhibition is desirable and shall enable its visitors from across the globe to know more about Chinese cultural heritages and strengthen cultural ties.

The painting Silk Road Landscape Map from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) is one of the prominent pieces of art being exhibited. The painting, 30.12 meters in length and 0.59 meters in width, depicts the scenes of numerous cities along the ancient Silk Road such as Dunhuang in China,Samarkand in Uzbekistan,Herat in Afghanistan,Isfahan in Iran, Damascus in Syria and so on.

The exhibition is scheduled to last until Dec 15.