On January 20th,  2017, the Opening Ceremony of "The Silk Road, Ancient Chinese Art" Exhibition was held at the Museum of Applied Arts and Design in Vilnius. H. E. Mr. Wei Ruixing, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China, and Hon. Ms. Liana Ruokytė-Jonsson, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, were invited to attend the Opening Ceremony and deliver welcome remarks. About 200 guests and visitors were present at the Opening Ceremony.

Ambassador Wei expressed his appreciation to the Museum of Applied Arts and Design and Arts Exhibition China for their great efforts to hold this Exhibition to promote cultural exchanges between China and Lithuania, and expressed his thanks to the Ministry of Culture and the Lithuanian Art Museum for their invaluable support. The Ambassador said, "the ancient Silk Road of 2000 years ago was not only a road for trading between the East and the West, but also a road for friendship, and for mutual learning among different civilizations. 'The Belt and Road' initiative China put forward three years ago, which covers five areas---policy coordination, road connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bond, has wakened up the vigor of the ancient Silk Road". The Ambassador stressed, "Amity of the people holds the key to country-to-country relations. This Exhibition, which is the first Ancient Chinese Art Exhibition held in Lithuania, is not only to show the artifacts and relics from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Henan Province, but also to demonstrate how the ancient Silk Road influenced the cultural exchanges of the East and the West. I hope that it will attract as many Lithuanian people as possible, and leave some deep impression on them".

Minister Ruokytė-Jonsson extended her congratulations on the opening of the Exhibition and expressed her appreciation to the relevant government departments and cultural institutions of both Lithuania and China for holding this Exhibition to promote cultural exchanges between the two countries. "Lithuania will also hold its art exhibition in Beijing in May", the Minister said, and expressed her hope that the relevant government departments and cultural institutions of Lithuania and China would provide more platforms to present their rich, splendid and profound cultures to the peoples of the two countries and expand cultural exchanges and cooperation, so as to make greater contributions to the development of diversified word civilization.

"The Silk Road, Ancient Chinese Art" Exhibition, besides the preface and the conclusion, has two major parts. Part I is Chinese Style on Silk Road, including three subparts, i.e. Crisscross Annexation and Early Exchanges, Unified China of Han Dynasty and the Silk Road Thoroughfare, and Precious Remains in Prairie. Part II is Blend of World Culture, including four subparts, i.e. Treasures of the Great Tang Dynasty, Caravan Intercourse, Circulation around the World, and Shinning Light of Buddhism. The exhibited artifacts and relics of this Exhibition mainly come from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which is an integral part of the Silk Road as it pioneered the cultural exchanges between the East and the West, and from Henan Province, which lies on the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and is the cradle of the Chinese culture.

The Exhibition will open to the public from January 20 to April 18, 2017 at the Museum of Applied Arts and Design in Vilnius