Largest exhibition of ancient American artifacts opens in Shanghai

Shanghai Museum celebrated the opening of its highly anticipated exhibition, On Top of the World Tree: Ancient Civilizations of the Americas, on Wednesday afternoon. Hailed as the world's largest and most comprehensive presentation of ancient American civilizations, the exhibition will run from July 9 to Nov 14, 2027, showcasing nearly 3,000 artifacts from Mexico and Peru.

Antonio Saborit García Peña, director of Mexico's National Museum of Anthropology, previewed the show ahead of its public debut. He praised the curatorial decision to intersperse selected Chinese artifacts among the displays as a "fantastic idea", noting striking formal resemblances between Chinese and Mesoamerican cultures.

"It would be wonderful to present such a dialogue at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City," he said. "We look forward to exploring this line of collaboration."