Staff in Beijing pose with a 5,000-year-old pot and a Terracotta Warrior, both from Shaanxi province.[Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

According to Xu He, curator of the exhibition from Art Exhibitions China, an organization in charge of Sino-foreign cultural relics exchange exhibitions, 13 institutions nationwide－including the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Shaanxi History Museum in Xi'an, and the Luoyang Museum in Henan province－sent contributions from their collections for the upcoming exhibition.

"We want to present a comprehensive history of China to Saudi visitors," Xu says. "The artifacts will be displayed in time order.

"The different facets of the Chinese dynasties over the centuries are shown through people's lifestyles, artistic achievements and their communication with foreign countries," she says. "The continuity and inclusiveness of Chinese civilization will be reflected through this."