Yang Jian, a 30-year-old computer engineer, admits he had little interest in archaeology before he made a recent visit to the Art Museum of the China Millennium Monument.

In the museum's Oriental and Occidental galleries the exhibition "Chinese Civilization: Centurial National Treasure Exhibition" is currently on display.

The show features a total of 213 pieces of valuable relics selected from museums and cultural institutions in 15 provinces, autonomous cities and regions across the country. Around half of the exhibits are grade-one relics from the most significant archaeological discoveries in the past 50 years.

The event has attracted extensive public attention since its opening on April 26. Even on May 5 when there were strong winds and torrential rains, more than 3,000 visitors were registered at the exhibition.

"A friend of mine convinced me to come here for a visit myself," said Yang, who was among the 3,000 visitors on the rainy day. "He had seen it already and said the visit was worthwhile."

When Yang stood in front of the provisional tomb-like presenting room of a 2,000-year-old royal jade burial suit sewn with gold threads, he said his friend was right.

The garment, which looks very similar to armour, measures 1.74 metres long and consists of 4,248 pieces of jade. It is the best protected and oldest of its kind ever discovered in China. A king of the State of Chu in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD) is believed to have worn the suit.

When it was unearthed in Lion Mountain on the outskirts of Xuzhou in 1995, it was nothing but a pile of jade plates, as most of the original gold thread had been stolen by grave robbers.

"As I observe the jade garment, I can almost imagine the king being dressed by his courtiers with this attire," Yang said. "The garment is here, so silent yet at the same time, so eloquent. If you listen, it tells stories."

Four kinds of archaeological relics found in the tomb of Emperor Qinshihuang also attract great attention at the exhibit. Unlike the terra cotta soldiers that have been globally known for decades, the newly unearthed terra-cotta figurines feature images of entertainers and servants for the intellectuals of the period. The servants bear a knife on their backs, which was used to help erase the wrong characters written on bamboo slips.

Besides the display of recent discoveries in the country, another part of the exhibition is devoted to the elite Buddhist art throughout Chinese history.

The exhibition gathers a series of important relics to reveal the history from the introduction of Buddhism in China to the Song Dynasty (960-1127). This part of the exhibition is specially highlighted with the presentation of the precious sarira (body remains of cremated dignitaries in the past) found in different sites.

The exhibition runs through June 15. Admission is 50 yuan (US$6), with a half-price concession for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and full-time students.

This is the second large-scale national treasure exhibition co-organized by the State Bureau of Cultural Relics, the China National Museum and the China Milenium Momument. The first of this kind was held in 2001 also in the Art Gallery of China Millennium Monument.

Thanks to the success of the two shows and the growing public interest in archaeological discoveries, the organizers have decided to make the show a regular event once every four years, featuring the most recent significant archaeological discoveries.

The next exhibition will take place in 2009.

(China Daily 05/13/2005 page6)