Rare ancient artifacts reveal the origins of Chinese civilization at an exhibition in Hong Kong

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how representative are well-preserved, millennia-old artifacts of past civilizations?

More than 100 rare and recent archaeological finds from China are on display at the Hong Kong Palace Museum in an exhibition titled “The Origins of Chinese Civilization.”

Some of the items date back as far as 6,000 years, when some of the earliest human cultures – alongside the Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Indus civilizations – developed near the Yellow, Yangtze and Liao rivers. Sixteen are classified as “first degree” national treasures.

It is a unique opportunity to see all the artifacts in one place as they are usually displayed separately in 14 museums and archaeological institutions in mainland China.

“This exhibition is one of the most comprehensive exhibitions on the origins of Chinese civilization in recent years and also one of the first exhibitions on the subject in Hong Kong,” said Raphael Wong, deputy curator of the Hong Kong Palace Museum.