Egypt hails success of ancient civilization exhibition in China's Shanghai

CAIRO, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities on Thursday hailed the success of the "On Top of the Pyramid: The Civilization of Ancient Egypt" exhibition currently being held in China.

Since its opening in July, the exhibition has drawn 136,000 visitors in just two weeks, leading the Shanghai Museum to extend visiting hours, the ministry said in a statement.

Mohamed Ismail Khaled, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), said the extension of visiting hours during summer vacations reflected both the exhibition's success and the Chinese people's passion for ancient Egyptian civilization.

He viewed the exhibition as a way to promote Egyptian tourist destinations in the Chinese market, emphasizing the appeal of cultural tourism to Chinese tourists.

Running until August 2025, the exhibition is the largest of its kind held outside Egypt in the past two decades, featuring 788 artifacts, with over 95 percent making their debut in Asia.

The exhibition includes exquisite pieces 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 golden jewelry of queens, and new discoveries of painted coffins, animal mummies, and statues from the Saqqara region, according to official introduction.