Co-operation promotes civilisation dialogue

China and Egypt work together to protect legacies. Liu Jianqiao reports

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The Nile River, eternal and majestic, carves its path through deserts that seem to be bereft of horizons before surrendering to the Mediterranean in North Egypt.

Along its fertile black banks ancient Egyptian civilisation blossomed, a land of awe and mystery where the world's first scripts were etched, some of the earliest cities rose, and belief in eternity gave shape to temples and tombs.

Today this river of history flows into a new chapter, as China and Egypt band together to guard the legacies of their ancient civilisations. Together they are breathing new life into weathered stones and faded murals, through joint archaeological digs, relic restorations and cultural exhibitions.

In this dialogue across time, two cradles of human wisdom affirm a shared belief that the diversity of civilisations is a treasure to be cherished, and that protecting the past is a way of inspiring the future, experts said.

From the summer of 2024 to the summer of 2025, Shanghai Museum staged the landmark exhibition On Top of the Pyramid: The Civilisation of Ancient Egypt. The exhibition, with 788 rare artefacts on display, drew 2.78 million visitors. More than 400 newly unearthed artefacts were presented, underscoring the rich fruits of recent China-Egypt joint archaeological projects.