China's Best Museum Exhibitions of 2019 Awards were unveiled recently. Twenty-nine winners distinguish themselves in five categories. The annual event, dubbed the Oscar Awards in China's cultural relics realm, has now completed its 17th run since its inception in 1997, receiving 114 applications from various types of museums.

The winning exhibitions cover a wide range of themes, including art, science, history, natural history, and modern revolutionary history, and offer various perspectives on and interpretations of artistic, historical, or scientific collections. Notably, two categories of awards are dedicated to international joint exhibitions to promote cross-cultural understandings between China and the rest of the world.

The First Capital of China: Permanent exhibition of Erlitou Site Museum of the Xia Capital
华夏第一王都——二里头夏都遗址博物馆基本陈列

From Oct 19, 2019
Location: Erlitou Site Museum of the Xia Capital, Luoyang city, Henan province

Exhibition of the sacrifice remains found at the Erlitou site[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Erlitou was the site of the capital of China's first dynasty, the Xia Dynasty (c.21st century-16th century BC). It is considered the root of Chinese culture and the national system. This permanent exhibition is spread throughout the functional areas of the museum, including: the demonstration area for the protection, display and utilization of major national historical sites; the research and exhibition center of the formation and development of early states; and the research and display base for Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project and the Project for Tracing Chinese Civilization Origins.

The exhibition is made up of these three major sections. The first one illustrates the establishment, rule and collapse of the Xia Dynasty through historical documents and cultural relics unearthed from relevant archaeological sites. The second part comprises five units which offer a multi-faceted presentation of the archaeological finds and research results at the site over the 60 years since 1959, explaining the national system, environment, geography, urban layout, national structure and cultural influence of the capital city in the mid and late Xia Dynasty. Part three focuses on the careers and achievements of the six pioneers in the exploration of the Xia culture, and achievements of the Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project and the Project for Tracing Chinese Civilization Origins, in which the Erlitou site plays a significant role.

A showcase of the turquoise mosaic item in the shape of a dragon[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A total of 2,089 cultural relics are showcased, including pottery, bronzeware, jade, turquoise ware, stone tools , seashells and bone, burial sets of nobles, animal bone specimens, and plant seed carbonization specimens. Of these relics, there are more than 231 particularly precious ones which are highlighted in the second part of the exhibition.

In addition to conveying strong cultural attributes, the exhibition also adopts cutting-edge technologies and various media to engage audiences.

A showcase of ancient stone tools [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

To learn more about the winning exhibitions, please visit http://govt.chinadaily.com.cn/topics/cultureandarts/chinamuseumexhibitions/