In pics: Recalling a touring exhibit of Afghanistan’s relics in China

Treasures on the road: Recalling a touring exhibit of Afghanistan’s relics in China

(People's Daily Online/ Zhong Wenxing)

Nine kilometers southwest of the center of Kabul stands a two-story building – the National Museum of Afghanistan – where a stunning collection spanning millenniums of history can be found. After 40-plus years of instability and bitter conflict, the ancient artifacts still rest quietly within, having survived a coup d’état, invasions, and intermittent lootings, forming an ineffable silence so loud that it has made the whole world fretful about their situation.

Now that Afghanistan has become a news frequenter, Chinese netizens started a round of cyber recollection of a travelling exhibit. In March 2017, a bevy of Afghan treasures made a big splash at the Palace Museum in Beijing. In the ensuing three years, they went on to be exhibited to throngs of people in nine Chinese cities, from Dunhuang to Nanjing, and from Zhengzhou to Hong Kong. Well-designed exhibitions offered museumgoers both tangible evidence of the richness of Afghan culture and compelling stories of contemporary Afghans who had safeguarded these treasures for the entire world to see.