This October, the Poly MGM Museum will launch its much-anticipated Silk Road exhibition, marking the 12th anniversary of China’s Belt and Road Initiative with a sweeping cultural showcase that spans continents, centuries, and civilizations.
Opening October 1, the exhibition brings together over 200 rare artifacts across four immersive thematic sections, tracing the epic story of Eurasian exchange and the enduring spirit of ‘peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and shared benefit.’
As Macao continues its transformation into a hub of cultural dialogue—where Chinese heritage meets global diversity—the Silk Road exhibition positions the city as a living bridge between East and West.
Since its public debut in November 2024, the Poly MGM Museum has focused on curating art and antiquities from Belt and Road regions, blending scholarship with interactivity through modular exhibition design.
The result: a cultural gem in the Greater Bay Area and a vital node in the global conversation on heritage.
A Journey Through Time and Space
The exhibition unfolds in four chapters—Western Winds Across the Desert, Starlight Across Civilizations, Shared Light and Dust, and The Road Ahead—each offering a distinct lens on the Silk Road’s legacy.
Western Winds Across the Desert explores the early foundations of the trade routes, where goods and ideas flowed across arid landscapes to shape a lasting network.
Starlight Across Civilizations showcases the transmission of technologies—textiles, ceramics, lacquerware, metalwork, glass, and enamel—that transformed daily life across cultures.
Shared Light and Dust delves into the spiritual and aesthetic exchanges along the route, from sculpture and music to philosophical texts and sacred manuscripts.
The Road Ahead reflects on how the Silk Road’s material and intangible heritage continues to inspire contemporary art and foster global trust, connectivity, and shared destiny.
From Zhang Qian’s Mission to a Global Stage
Three standout features elevate the exhibition into a truly international event:
Global Provenance: Artifacts hail from nearly 20 institutions across Chinese mainland—including the Palace Museum and National Museum of China—as well as international partners such as the National Museum of Damascus and Japan’s Hirayama Ikuo Silk Road Museum. Future additions from Portugal and France will further expand the exhibition’s reach.
Modern Echoes of Ancient Spirit: Works by generations of Dunhuang scholars, including Chang Shuhong and Chang Shana, highlight the enduring legacy of Silk Road guardianship. Composer Tan Dun’s reconstructed ancient instruments—like the phoenix-headed konghou and five-string pipa—bring the ‘Sound of the Silk Road’ to life through symphonic fusion.
Nighttime Immersion: A new ‘Museum by Night’ program transforms the exhibition into a theatrical experience, where live performances animate the stories behind the artifacts, offering visitors a multisensory journey across time.
A Living Legacy
From Zhang Qian’s diplomatic expedition in 138 BCE—hailed in Records of the Grand Historian as the beginning of ‘interchange of goods’—to the 2014 UNESCO inscription of the Chang’an–Tianshan corridor registered by a collaboration among China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the Silk Road has long been a symbol of shared human endeavor.
Now in 2025, the Poly MGM Museum draws on the strengths of Poly Culture and MGM Resorts to present a landmark exhibition that brings together bronze chariot figurines from Gansu, a blue glass vase from the Palace Museum, a porcelain bottle from Damascus, a Gandhara Buddha from Japan, and Tan Dun’s musical reconstructions—all in one hall, alongside Dunhuang mural replicas and digital installations.
Through sound, light, color, and interaction, the ancient Silk Road comes alive—not as a relic of the past, but as a living testament to the power of cultural exchange.
The Poly MGM Museum invites visitors to witness this legacy and reflect on the role of art in shaping a shared future.
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