Chongqing - On July 27, the Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum, in collaboration with the Sichuan Museum and twenty other cultural institutions along the Yangtze River, unveiled a special exhibition titled "Jade from the River - Exhibition of Prehistoric Jade Wares Unearthed from the Yangtze River Basin." The exhibition, which runs until October 27, offers a unique glimpse into the grandeur of the Yangtze River civilization through exquisite jade artifacts crafted thousands of years ago.

On July 27, the Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum, in collaboration with the Sichuan Museum and twenty other cultural institutions along the Yangtze River, unveiled a special exhibition titled "Jade from the River - Exhibition of Prehistoric Jade Wares Unearthed from the Yangtze River Basin." (Photo/Rao Dan)

"Jade is one of the most representative cultural elements of Chinese civilization, beloved by people of various ethnic groups, especially the Han Chinese. Since the 1930s, a large number of prehistoric jade artifacts have been unearthed in the Yangtze River Basin, gradually revealing the profound heritage of jade culture in this region," explained curator Xia Huogen. The exhibition aims to showcase the role of jade in the development of the Yangtze River civilization and its contribution to the origins of Chinese civilization.

The curator, Xia Huogen, introduces the exquisite collection of jade wares. (Photo/Rao Dan)

Upon entering the exhibition hall, visitors are greeted by a 180-meter-long display line featuring 305 prehistoric jade artifacts from the Yangtze River Basin. "Among these, 32 are first-class cultural relics, most of which are being displayed in Chongqing for the first time," said Xia.

The exhibition is divided into four sections, following the chronological development of prehistoric jade in the Yangtze River Basin. Xia highlighted that the earliest jade huang ornaments (a semi-circular pendant), dating back 9,000 to 7,000 years, were discovered at the Pengtoushan site in Lixian, Hunan Province, and the Kuahuqiao site in Xiaoshan, Zhejiang Province. "Visitors will see dozens of jade huang from these sites in the exhibition."

As history progressed, from 7,000 to 5,500 years ago, the Hemudu, Majiabang, Daxi, and Songze cultures featured jade ornaments primarily in the forms of jade jue (a type of ring or slit ring) and huang. "We have nearly 50 jade jue pieces from these archaeological cultures on display," Xia added.

A significant focus of the exhibition is the ritual jade cong from the Liangzhu culture, which holds a prominent place in Chinese jade history. "We have 13 jade cong (a square tube with a circular hole) in the exhibition," Xia mentioned, including a notable piece with a god-human beast face pattern unearthed from tomb No. 20 at the Fanshan site in Yuhang, Zhejiang Province, in 1986.

The jade cong was unearthed from tomb No. 20 at the Fanshan site in Yuhang, Zhejiang Province. (Photo/Rao Dan)

Xia emphasized that over 90% of the exhibits are unearthed artifacts, with nearly half coming directly from archaeological institutions such as the Chongqing Cultural Relics and Archaeology Institute, Hunan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, and Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. 

This exhibition marks the largest collaboration of cultural institutions for a single exhibition in the history of the Three Gorges Museum, involving collections from 20 institutions along the Yangtze River, including nine provincial-level museums.

(Rao Dan, as an intern, also contributed to the report)