23/1/1996 – 28/7/1996

There were two arteries which linked China with the West. One was the route on lands passing through deserts, lofty mountains and the steppes known as the Silk Road while the other was a sea route which reached the Middle East via the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. Guangzhou was the starting point of this "Maritime Silk Road" with Hong Kong and Macau guarding the entrance to the Pearl River serving as its outer ports, both playing a vital role in the trade with the West. This exhibition is presented jointly with the Guangzhou Museum and the Guangdong Provincial Museum, supplemented with loan exhibits from the Macau Maritime Museum. Illustrated with old maps, paintings, unearthed artifacts, export items and ship models, the exhibition introduces the role of Guangzhou, Macau and Hong Kong as a seaport, the maritime trade in the last two thousand years and the subsequent cultural interaction of China and the Occidental World.