Chinese cultural relics on display at the British Museum in London, Sept 13, 2005.
As countries with long histories and profound culture, China and the UK have long been engaged in cultural exchanges. China is home to 4,000 museums, and the UK has about 2,500, and both have world renowned museums. Let's look at how the top museums of the two countries have interacted with each other during the past.
Exhibits from the exhibition "Treasures of the World's Cultures" in the Capital Museum in Beijing.
1. Exhibition "Treasures of the World's Cultures"
March 18 - June 5, 2006
The British Museum and Capital Museum in Beijing
The British Museum lent 272 artifacts to the Capital Museum for an 80-day exhibition. The launch marked the first time the 253-year-old British Museum, the world's oldest national public museum, had showcased some of its collection in the capital.
The exhibition covered a vast time span from 2 million years ago to the modern day, including sculptures, paintings, jewelry, porcelain, and stone artifacts from all over the world. Before its appearance in China, the exhibition had toured Japan and South Korea over the previous three years but did not include any Chinese artifacts.
The British Museum in London
2. Signing agreements and swapping experts
In 2005, the British Museum signed a historic agreement with the National Museum of China, the first cultural agreement between a British art institution and the National Museum.
The following year saw a similar agreement between the British Museum and the Palace Museum in Beijing. They will make possible future collaborative projects, including the loan of terracotta soldiers from Xi'an and, in return, the loan by the British Museum of exhibitions of world cultures unrepresented in Chinese collections.
The British Museum worked with the Palace Museum in sharing its skills to survey the museum's European clocks collection. In return, Chinese scholars assisted on the project to publish the British Museum's Chinese paintings collection.
Precious treasures from the British Museum on display at the Palace Museum in Beijing, March 15, 2007.
3. Exhibition "Britain Meets the World"
March 10 - June 10, 2007
The British Museum and the Palace Museum in Beijing
In March 2007, the British Museum launched an exhibition jointly with the Palace Museum. Entitled "Britain Meets the World: 1714-1830", it explored Britain's relationships across the globe during the Georgian period, as it emerged as an international power.
The exhibition gathered more than 100 pieces and sets of British cultural relics. The collection also included 13 collections from the Palace Museum, gifts the Chinese emperor had received from the British king.
Terracotta warriors on display at the British Museum in London.
4. China's terracotta warriors go to London
Sep 13, 2007 - April 6, 2008
The British Museum
Chinese terracotta warriors and horses made up the biggest number of exhibits and the first large-scale collection with the theme of Emperor Qinshihuang by the British Museum. A total of 20 terracotta warriors and horses and 100 other historic relics of the Qin Dynasty were displayed. The relics were provided by the Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Shihuang Shaanxi Cultural Relics Bureau in China.
The exhibition "China Design Now" in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
