Shanghai Museum to Host Major Ancient American Civilizations Exhibition Starting July, Lasting 16 Months
The Shanghai Museum will host "Summit of the World Tree: Exhibition of Ancient American Civilizations" starting in July, featuring nearly 3,000 artifacts from major ancient civilizations of Central and South America. The exhibition will run for 16 months, coinciding with the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Peru, and China and Mexico, promoting cultural exchange.
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- 📰 Published: May 9, 2026 at 13:16
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Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Liao Wen-chi, Shanghai, May 9th) The Shanghai Museum will exhibit "Summit of the World Tree: Exhibition of Ancient American Civilizations" starting in July, bringing together nearly 3,000 artifacts from mainstream ancient civilizations in Central and South America, with the exhibition lasting 16 months. This exhibition coincides with China celebrating the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Peru and Mexico in the current and coming years, respectively.
The Shanghai Museum will present "Summit of the World Tree: Exhibition of Ancient American Civilizations" at the People's Square branch starting July 9th. This exhibition will run until November 14, 2027, for a period of 16 months. Early bird tickets went on sale starting May 8th and sold over 10,000 tickets within 40 minutes, breaking the previous sales record of "Summit of the Pyramids: Exhibition of Ancient Egyptian Civilization."
At the promotion event on the afternoon of May 8th, Shanghai Museum Director Chu Xiaobo introduced that this exhibition will gather 1129 sets, nearly 3,000 artifacts from the Americas, including major ancient civilizations of Central and South America such as Olmec, Maya, Teotihuacan, Aztec, and Andean (Moche, Chimú, Inca).
Chu Xiaobo stated that this exhibition coincides with China celebrating the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Peru and Mexico in 2026 and 2027, respectively. "The Shanghai Museum will participate in the retelling of world civilizations from a Chinese perspective, allowing more people to see the world, and letting the world be seen by more people."
Zhong Xiaomin, Director of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism and Director of the Shanghai Cultural Heritage Administration, stated in his speech that the upcoming "Summit of the World Tree: Exhibition of Ancient American Civilizations" is an important practice for Shanghai to implement the Global Civilization Initiative and the China-Latin America Civilization Project. Shanghai hopes to take this exhibition as an opportunity to further build a cultural exchange platform between China and Latin America, and promote more high-quality Latin American cultural resources into China.
Wang Ruoyi, Acting Consul General of the Consulate General of Mexico in Shanghai, and David Gamarra, Consul General of Peru in Shanghai, also attended the promotion event and delivered speeches.
Chu Xiaobo said in an interview with the media after the event that the curation of this exhibition took nearly two years. It is very difficult to bring together the mainstream civilizations of Central and South America. They coordinated with each museum, and the Shanghai Museum team, following the curation concept, had curators personally fly to the Americas to select artifacts one by one. The successful realization of this exhibition also received strong support from the government.
In addition, Chu Xiaobo revealed that the transportation of these artifacts is an unprecedented challenge, not only due to the large quantity but also many heavy and tall artifacts, scattered across various regions. Two large dedicated cargo planes from China Eastern Logistics will be dispatched, traveling nearly 30,000 kilometers, with transportation expected to begin in early June. (Editor: Zhou Hui-ying) 1150509
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(Central News Agency reporter Liao Wen-chi, Shanghai, May 9th) The Shanghai Museum will exhibit "Summit of the World Tree: Exhibition of Ancient American Civilizations" starting in July, bringing together nearly 3,000 artifacts from mainstream ancient civilizations in Central and South America, with the exhibition lasting 16 months. This exhibition coincides with China celebrating the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Peru and Mexico in the current and coming years, respectively.
The Shanghai Museum will present "Summit of the World Tree: Exhibition of Ancient American Civilizations" at the People's Square branch starting July 9th. This exhibition will run until November 14, 2027, for a period of 16 months. Early bird tickets went on sale starting May 8th and sold over 10,000 tickets within 40 minutes, breaking the previous sales record of "Summit of the Pyramids: Exhibition of Ancient Egyptian Civilization."
At the promotion event on the afternoon of May 8th, Shanghai Museum Director Chu Xiaobo introduced that this exhibition will gather 1129 sets, nearly 3,000 artifacts from the Americas, including major ancient civilizations of Central and South America such as Olmec, Maya, Teotihuacan, Aztec, and Andean (Moche, Chimú, Inca).
Chu Xiaobo stated that this exhibition coincides with China celebrating the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Peru and Mexico in 2026 and 2027, respectively. "The Shanghai Museum will participate in the retelling of world civilizations from a Chinese perspective, allowing more people to see the world, and letting the world be seen by more people."
Zhong Xiaomin, Director of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism and Director of the Shanghai Cultural Heritage Administration, stated in his speech that the upcoming "Summit of the World Tree: Exhibition of Ancient American Civilizations" is an important practice for Shanghai to implement the Global Civilization Initiative and the China-Latin America Civilization Project. Shanghai hopes to take this exhibition as an opportunity to further build a cultural exchange platform between China and Latin America, and promote more high-quality Latin American cultural resources into China.
Wang Ruoyi, Acting Consul General of the Consulate General of Mexico in Shanghai, and David Gamarra, Consul General of Peru in Shanghai, also attended the promotion event and delivered speeches.
Chu Xiaobo said in an interview with the media after the event that the curation of this exhibition took nearly two years. It is very difficult to bring together the mainstream civilizations of Central and South America. They coordinated with each museum, and the Shanghai Museum team, following the curation concept, had curators personally fly to the Americas to select artifacts one by one. The successful realization of this exhibition also received strong support from the government.
In addition, Chu Xiaobo revealed that the transportation of these artifacts is an unprecedented challenge, not only due to the large quantity but also many heavy and tall artifacts, scattered across various regions. Two large dedicated cargo planes from China Eastern Logistics will be dispatched, traveling nearly 30,000 kilometers, with transportation expected to begin in early June. (Editor: Zhou Hui-ying) 1150509
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship you make is the power to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency 'First-hand News' APP to stay updated with the latest news.
Text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.