A cultural relics exhibition is being held at the Fujian Museum in east China's Fujian Province to tell stories of the trade between the East and the West along the Maritime Silk Road in old times.

The exhibition, with the name of "Good fortune sails across the world: the cultural hallmarks of the Maritime Silk Road", features 295 cultural relics from 35 museums, including incense burner, tea set, and glass, all about the Maritime Silk Road.
"Silk was the most important commodity along the Maritime Silk Road. In Fujian, one of the significant archaeological discoveries was the large amount of silk products unearthed from the tomb of Huang Sheng, a noble of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127 - 1279). A total of 354 sets of garments were discovered in this tomb. Let's look at this one. It looks quite large, about 1.8 meters wide and one meter high, but it weighs merely 38 grams. In fact, Fujian had already become one of China's three major silk production centers during the Southern Song Dynasty," said Ding Qinghua, an associate research fellow from the Fujian Museum.
With the changing of dominate commodities along the maritime silk road, the Maritime Silk Road got different names during different periods. In one such period, the Maritime Silk Road was referred to as the Road of Ceramics, which is testified by the displayed cultural relics at the exhibition.
One of the exhibits is a black glazed teabowl produced by the renowned kiln, the Jian Kiln. It is a testimony that Chinese porcelain and tea culture made their reputations abroad.
Another precious treasure of the museum is a glazed vase in peacock blue, whose color and shape shows it is an imported goods.
"The peacock blue vase from Persia was excavated from the tomb of Liu Hua, the queen of a third-generation ruler during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Fujian. The most significant is the blue color. The green glaze and the blue glaze are specialties of Persia. The shape, color, and material of this cultural relic item shows that Fujian had established trade connections with the Persian region during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period," said Ding.
Exhibits also include a green glass disc, a silver bowl with capricorn patterns, the octagonal vase produced by Yue Kiln. All the exhibits fully shows the cultural integration between the East and the rest of the world.
"The exhibition is called 'Good fortune sails across the world'. The key lies in the 'fortune'. It represents Fujian, vessels with good fortune, and the culture of good fortune. It conveys the idea of harmony, coexistence, and mutual prosperity in China's maritime civilization," said Ding.
As this exhibition showcases the cultural imprints of the Maritime Silk Road, it unveils the historical significance of Fujian and its contributions to the global exchange of goods, ideas, and cultural diversity, according to Ding.