Jinyang Ancient Town Museum in China's Shanxi Province opened to the public on Friday with more than 1,000 pieces of exquisite cultural relics, unveiling a historical period which dates back more than 1,000 years. The ancient town existed for more than 1,500 years, being established from Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC), thriving in Tang Dynasty (618-907) and being deserted in early Song Dynasty (960-1279).

Many of the exhibits made their debut.

The museum has made a modern twist on the ancient treasures by reconstruction of the scenes, multi-media equipment and other means.

The Jinyang ancient town site is mainly composed of three parts, the sites of the town, stone cave temples and tombs.

Archaeological work has started since the 1960s and important remains such as palaces and large building foundations have been discovered successively.

A white marble coffin was excavated by researcher Zhang Qingjie, 69, more than 20 years ago in the burial area of the ancient town.

"This stone tomb is of Chinese style, but there is no Chinese element in the images engraved on it. The tomb owner was a man of Yu (a Western Zhou Dynasty 1046-771 BC) vassal state that lasted from 1046-655 BC and some people think he was in what is now the Tigris and Euphrates basin," said Zhang, a researcher of Shanxi Institute of Archaeology.

Some cultural relics with strong exoticism such as terracotta camels in formation have been unearthed at the ancient town site, which experts said reflects that Jinyang was an important ancient town at the crossroads of Eastern and Western civilizations along the ancient Silk Road.

"Many people from Central Asia entered East Asia through the grassland in the north, and Jinyang was an important city on this traffic artery," said Liu Shuguang, president of the Chinese Museums Association.