Silk Road Week 2021 Opening Ceremony and Silk Road Online Museum Debut

The Silk Road Week 2021 opening ceremony took place on 18 June 2021 at the China National Silk Museum. During the ceremony speeches were given by Mr. Guan Qiang, Deputy Director of China National Cultural Heritage Administration, Mr. Cheng Yuechong, Vice-governor of Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government, and Mr. Shahbaz Khan, Director of the UNESCO Office in Beijing. The program of events, which will run until 24 June, includes the Annual Report of Cultural Heritage on the Silk Roads 2020, a Museum Directors Forum, a Curators Forum on the Silk Roads and Digital Curation, a Special Annual Conference of the Chinese Association of Dunhuang and Turfan Studies and many other events.

During the opening ceremony, the Silk Road Online Museum Project (SROM) was debuted. This fully online 3D exhibition entitled ‘Gathering in the Galaxy: Great Treasures from the Silk Roads’ includes 79 artifacts from 47 museums around the world. Taking its cue from geography, the exhibition is divided into four chapters, ‘Steppe Silk Road’, ‘Silk Road of the Desert Oasis’, ‘Maritime Silk Road, and the ‘Buddhist Silk Road’. Initiated by the China National Silk Museum, SROM has partnered with museums worldwide to compile an online platform comprised of four distinct categories, Digital Collection, Digital Exhibition, Digital Knowledge, and Online Curating. Some of the over 40 museums from 18 different countries taking part include, the British Museum, the State Historical Museum in Russia, the Hirayama Ikuo Silk Road Museum in Japan, the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki in Greece, and the National Museum of Antiquities in Tajikistan. The project facilitates cooperation and mutual learning and provides an online research and curating platform for museum and university education.

The Silk Road Online Museum and exhibition is now open to the public and available here