The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has announced the inauguration of a temporary archaeological exhibition in China titled ‘The Top of the Pyramid... The Civilization of Ancient Egypt’.

The exhibition will grace the halls of the Shanghai Museum, captivating visitors from mid-July 2024 until August 2025. On display will be a plethora of Egyptian artifacts and antiquities, an assemblage that promises to immerse the viewer in the ancient splendors of Egypt's rich civilization. This grand exhibition serves a dual purpose: to foster a profound understanding of ancient Egyptian culture among the Chinese populace and to stimulate tourism to Egypt from the vast Chinese market.

"More than 95 percent of the Egyptian artifacts in this show are coming to Asia for the first time," Chu Xiaobo, director at the Shanghai Museum, tells CairoScene. "Our team have had several rounds of discussions with the Egyptian side, and we feel so fortunate that the exhibition will finally land at Shanghai Museum this year."

Taking up three exhibition halls on the first level of the Shanghai Museum, the exhibition will feature approximately 500 groups of 800 ancient Egyptian artifacts. An immersive display titled ‘Disappearing Pharaoh Khufu’ will take place concurrently on the second level of the museum, echoing the first floor exhibition. Visitors can take a 45-minute virtual experience that transports them to the enigmatic Egyptian society 4,500 years ago, thanks to state-of-the-art virtual reality technology.

The Egyptian government has implemented a series of measures to attract tourism from China, such as streamlining visa procedures at ports of entry and bolstering air travel routes between Egypt and China. Moreover, a prominent Chinese airline has recently announced plans to launch a new route connecting a major Chinese city to Egypt.