Experts from around the world gathered in Baoji, Northwest China's Shaanxi province to attend "Emergence of Bronze Age Societies - A Global Perspective", an international conference held from Nov 8 to 12 at the Gaoxin Joy International Hotel.

The conference was a joint venture, organized by the School of Archaeology and Museology and the Study Center of Chinese Archaeology of Peking University, The International Center for Chinese Cultural Heritage and Archaeology of University College in London, The Cultural Relics Bureau of Shaanxi Province and the Baoji People's Government.

The host city of the conference, Baoji, lies in the westernmost part of the middle reaches of the Yellow River, the birth place of the Chinese nation. It is known as the Home of Chinese Bronze, and has produced great quantities of exquisite bronzes that are exhibited and treasured by many major museums in China and abroad.

More than 80 experts in the study of bronze from 10 countries participated in the conference, including some of the world's top bronze researchers such as Professor Li Boqian from Peking University, Madam Jessica Rawson from the School of Archaeology at London University and Chiou-Peng Tzehuey from the University of Illinois.

During the conference the archaeologists discussed the development of bronze and were invited to visit the Baoji Bronze Museum, the largest of its kind in the world.