Interview: Ancient Egyptian exhibition in Shanghai boosts cultural, tourism exchanges: Egypt's antiquities official

CAIRO, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The grand exhibition of ancient Egyptian artifacts in Shanghai provides an overview of the ancient Egyptian civilization, marking a new chapter for cultural exchanges between Egypt and China, said Mohamed Ismail Khaled, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).

The exhibition, "On Top of the Pyramid: The Civilization of Ancient Egypt," the largest of its kind held outside Egypt over the past two decades, opened Wednesday in Shanghai, showcasing a total of 788 artifacts, with over 95 percent of them debuted in Asia.

"The exhibition is the largest one on ancient Egyptian civilization in China," said Khaled in a recent interview with Xinhua.

He added that the unique event, co-hosted by the Shanghai Museum and the SCA, is "a fruit of the close Egyptian-Chinese relations, especially the cultural ties."

The Egyptian official recalled that "the two sides held several meetings to discuss arrangement details in a meticulous way" and "coordinated to choose the items for display."

According to Khaled, the exhibition unveils the ancient Egyptian civilization from three angles: eternal life, mummification and mummies, and the great kings and their lives.

The exhibition features exquisite pieces collected from museums in Cairo, Ismailia, Suez, and Luxor, as well as warehouses in Saqqara necropolis, south of Cairo, including pharaoh statues of Tutankhamun, Amenemhat III, and Ramses II, a complete set of mummy coffins, intricate queen's golden jewelry, and new discoveries of painted coffins, animal mummies and statues from the Saqqara region, according to official introduction.

Highlighting "the exhibition will greatly contribute to strengthening people-to-people understandings between Egypt and China," Khaled expressed confidence in the expanding cultural exchanges between the two countries with unique ancient civilizations.

Given Shanghai's status as a prominent city and a major transportation hub in China, the SCA head said that studies indicate approximately one million visitors, including individuals from neighboring cities and other nations, are expected to view the Egyptian treasures, which presents a valuable opportunity to attract Chinese tourists to Egypt and investments in the tourism and antiquities sectors.

On the sideline of the exhibition, he mentioned, two halls would be allocated to promoting Egypt's attractions.

"In cooperation with the Egyptian General Authority for Tourism Activation, national carrier EgyptAir, and some hotels and travel agencies, we are preparing an integrated tourism program for Chinese tourists to visit the archeological sites in Egypt," he said.

Describing the ancient artifacts on display as "appetizers," Khaled said, "We always welcome the friendly Chinese people nurtured by an ancient civilization to come and enjoy the splendor of ancient Egyptian civilization in Egypt's museums and archeological sites."