On March 12, the reporter learned from the Provincial Cultural Relics Exchange Center that since the exhibition "The Heritage of China's Qin and Han Civilizations" was exhibited in Spain on March 28, 2023, it has attracted more than 280,000 Spanish people to visit during the 10-month exhibition time.Staff said that the successful holding of this exhibition will play an important role in enhancing Chinese cultural confidence, telling Chinese stories well, and expanding the influence of Chinese culture.
"The Terracotta Warriors are very famous in Spain"
The Terracotta Warriors from China have had a huge impact on Alicante, a city with a population of 200,000. During the exhibition period, there are always crowds of people at the entrance of the museum. In order to ensure the safety of exhibits and the effectiveness of the exhibition, the museum stipulates that the number of visitors will be limited throughout the exhibition period, and the closing time will be extended from 19 o'clock to 22 o'clock during the summer vacation. Two days before the closing, the audience lined up to 1 kilometer and had to wait for nearly 5 hours.
"The Spanish people like this exhibition very much and like Chinese culture. It is very famous in Spain. For the Spanish, this is a good opportunity to understand Chinese culture. Take my family as an example. They didn't know about the Qin Dynasty and Han dynasties in China before, but after this exhibition, they have a certain understanding of this history." Speaking of the grand occasion of the exhibition, the words of Ms. Tatiana Maria Martinez Lera, a Spanish cultural relics protection and restorationist, are full of recognition of the charm of Chinese culture.
"The exhibition is divided into three exhibition halls, which showcase the history of Qin Shihuang's unification of China, the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang and the mysterious Terracotta Warriors. The three exhibition halls are all very popular." Ms. Livia Loca Alberola, a Spanish cultural relics protection and restorationist, said. "I especially like the third exhibition hall. These Terracotta Warriors are unique. Through them, you can understand the Qin Dynasty and understand Chinese history. The museum also uses advanced technology to create an immersive display space, immersed in history and exudes endless imagination."
As an important part of the series of activities of the "China Spanish Culture and Tourism Year", this exhibition is hosted by the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau, hosted by the Shaanxi History Museum and the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Exchange Center, and co-organized by the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum Museum. The 119 pieces (group) of exhibits come from 9 cultural and museum units in Shaanxi, including 10 pieces of Qin Terracotta Warriors and fine cultural relics such as gold and silver ware, bronze ware, pottery, and jade.
The success of the exhibition is due to the careful preparation of the cooperation between the two parties
It is reported that on March 7, 2023, the "Heritage of China's Qin and Han Civilizations" exhibition press conference was held at the Chinese Cultural Center in Madrid, the capital of Spain. Chinese Ambassador to Spain Wu Haitao said that as two important ancient civilizations in Asia and Europe, they had exchanged exchanges through the onshore Silk Road more than 2,000 years ago. It is great to see these artistic treasures of Chinese civilization on display in Spain to tell the audience the wonderful stories behind them.
"After four years of negotiations and preparations, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the West, the sunny country of Spain finally ushered in the most dazzling archaeological discovery of Terracotta Warriors in history." Alicante Governor Marthon's joy was beyond words. Alicante Deputy Governor and Director of Culture Para said that only a few museums are fortunate to exhibit such precious fine artifacts.
Like previous cultural relics outbound exhibitions, the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau, as the organizer, communicates with Spanish staff coming to Shaanxi to provide full-process safety measures such as cultural relics delivery and packaging, as well as relevant exhibition preparation, and clarifies the requirements for the full-process safety of cultural relics and scientific packaging of cultural relics. It hopes to achieve practical exhibition results on the premise of ensuring the safety of cultural relics.
The "Heritage of China's Qin and Han Civilizations" exhibition has gained the "on-view" of the Spanish people with its "charm" in the ancient capital Xi'an. The successful holding of the exhibition is also due to the careful preparations of both parties for the selection of cultural relics and the planning of exhibitions.
Spanish Cultural Relics Exhibition is expected to be held in China in 2025
During the exhibition, local Spanish media also paid great attention and publicity. With the strong support of the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau and the Spanish Archaeological Museum, on September 5, 2023, the "Analysis of the Cultural Connotation of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin" was successfully held at the Madrid Chinese Cultural Center. The lecture was specially invited by Zhu Xuewen, a research librarian at the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum Museum. Nearly 100 local Spanish citizens and media came to listen to the lecture, and the audience was filled.
During the interactive session, the public raised their hands to ask questions again to climax the atmosphere of the lecture. Zhu Xuewen gave detailed answers to the three stages of the construction of the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang, the classification of terracotta warriors and the sculpture style of sculptural artists, etc., in response to the questions raised by the audience. In his speech, Muños, honorary chairman of the Spanish Zhihua Lecture Hall, said that this lecture was of profound significance, and the huge Qin Mausoleum contains such rich cultural connotations, which is really amazing. Through listening to the explanation, he not only has a deeper understanding and understanding of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang, but also has a new understanding of Chinese history.
According to Spanish staff, an exhibition about Spanish cultural relics is planned to be held in China in 2025. The specific matters of the exhibition are still under discussion.