‘Roads of Arabia’ show opens in Beijing today

A rare archaeological piece to be on display at the show in Beijing.

RIYADH: “Roads of Arabia” exhibition opens Tuesday in the Chinese capital, Beijing.
The exhibition, to be held at the Chinese National Museum in Beijing, is showing for the first time in an Asian country; it was previously held in four European countries, five US cities and, locally, at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture in Dhahran.
The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH) and the National Museum in Beijing finished preparations for the launch of the fair where 466 rare archeological pieces were installed in the exhibition’s showroom in coordination with the Saudi Embassy in China.
The pieces present Saudi Arabia’s cultural heritage and civilization starting with the Stone Age, the pre-Islamic era, and early, medieval and late civilizations of Arab monarchies. It also passes through the Islamic and Medieval Islamic period until the establishment of the Saudi state, in 1744, till the era of King Abdulaziz, the founder of the modern Saudi state.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman inaugurated the exhibition when it was held in Dhahran.
King Salman encouraged the exhibition to tour East Asian countries, starting with the Chinese capital, after the remarkable success it enjoyed before, in the French capital, at the Louvre museum, in Barcelona, Russia, Germany and the four US cities: Washington, St. Petersburg, Houston, Kansas and San Francisco.
The exhibition introduces the history and civilization of the Arabian Peninsula to the rest of the world, as well as enhances the cultural connection between the different nations of the world and highlights the fact that the Kingdom is a cradle of great human civilization that culminated in the great civilization of Islam.
The exhibition in China is sponsored by Saudi Aramco, which also sponsored previous fairs.