'Maritime Silk Road' exhibition comes to Nanjing

A blue-and-white porcelain produced during the Yongle Reign of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) is on display at the exhibition from March 27 to June 26. [Photo by Wan Chenpeng/Xinhua]

A cultural heritage exhibition jointly held by nine Chinese cities on the ancient Maritime Silk Road has come to its finale in Nanjing from March 27 to June 26.

Ship models, silk and porcelain products, ancient coins, tea and other cultural relics will present the civilization glory of the ancient trade route at the Chaotian Palace of ??Nanjing? Municipal Museum during the exhibition period.

Starting from May 18, 2012, the exhibition has been held in its host cities of Ningbo of Zhejiang province; Fuzhou, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou of Fujian province; Beihai of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region; and Yangzhou of Jiangsu province.

The exhibition is important for the nine cities in their application for World Heritage status for the Maritime Silk Road in 2015.

Nanjing, the capital of six dynasties in ancient China, was an important cultural center on the ancient Maritime Silk Road. There are 12 sites of the Maritime Silk Road in the city, including Tianfei Palace, Jinghai Temple, Zheng He Memorial Shipyard and Jingjue Mosque.

Starting from Quanzhou, the Maritime Silk Road was the earliest voyage route that was formed in the Qin and Han dynasties. It developed from the Three Kingdoms Period to the Sui Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties, and fell into decline in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It has contributed to the prosperous trade and cultural exchange between China's southeastern coastal areas and foreign countries in history.