An exhibition jointly held by the National Museum of China and Japan's Hirayama Ikuo Silk Road Museum has opened in Beijing. The display shows the economic and cultural exchanges among civilizations along the ancient Silk Road. Our reporter Ding Siyue has the story.

Through the combination of ancient artifacts and contemporary art creations, the exhibition tells the magnificent history of the ancient Silk Road from 2000 BC to 700 AD.

The exhibition consists of some 200 pieces. Most of them are cultural relics from various civilizations along the ancient Silk Road, which have been collected by the Hirayama Ikuo Silk Road Museum. There are also 8 pieces of watercolor works on Dunhuang, created by Hirayama Ikou.

HIRAYAMA TOKO, DEPUTY DIRECTOR HIRAYAMA IKUO SILK ROAD MUSEUM "Our museum has many exhibits covering relics from a large range of regions and time periods. For this one, we chose the most exquisite and representative items from different times in history."

The display is divided into four parts, according to different places of origin of the items, including the Mediterranean, Mesopotamia and Iran, Central Asia and India, and northwest China's Dunhuang.

YAN ZHI CURATOR OF THE EXHIBITION "This collection is very exquisite. It represents Mr. Hirayama' aesthetic taste and expertise in culture and history as a famous artist. The exhibition follows the silk road from west to east, showcasing a complete sequence of cultural integration."

Hirayama Ikuo passed away at the age of 79 in 2009. He was a Japanese Nihonga painter, famous for Silk Road-themed works, usually of dreamy desert landscapes in Iran, Iraq, and China. He was committed to assisting the protection of cultural relics in China's Dunhuang and made outstanding contributions to the cultural exchange between China and Japan. This exhibition is another important achievement of such exchange.

XIE XIAOQUAN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CHINA "The national museum of China serves as a platform for cultural communication. With exhibitions like this one, we would like to contribute more to promoting exchanges between China and other countries."

This exhibition shines a panoramic light on the nearly 3-thousand-year history of the ancient Silk Road. And it also captures the essence of mutual understanding between civilizations.