A human-shaped sarcophagus arrives in Shanghai on June 16 as part of an Egyptian exhibition to be held at the Shanghai Museum. [Photo/Zhang Hengwei]

On the early morning of June 16, approximately 788 artifacts from different periods of ancient Egypt arrived in Shanghai via special charter flights.

The arrival of these Egyptian precious cultural relics came after three weeks of hard work from the Shanghai Museum's six-person team. They helped to inventory and pack the artifacts in Egypt to ensure the smooth preparation of this exhibition.

Titled On Top of the Pyramid: The Civilization of Ancient Egypt, this planned exhibition is set to feature an unparalleled array of ancient Egyptian artifacts, from statues of pharaohs to gold jewelry, of which over 95 percent will be displayed in Asia for the first time. This exhibition will showcase the ancient Egyptian civilization and the latest archaeological discoveries and the exchanges between Chinese and Egyptian civilizations.

This is the first time that a Chinese museum has directly collaborated with the Egyptian government to host an ancient civilization exhibition.

Zhao Cenzhang, deputy director of the Shanghai Museum's Preservation Department, said that most of the previous exhibitions in the museum were single-category boutique exhibitions, often classified by materials, while this upcoming Egyptian event showcases the history of a civilization.

She added although her team comprehensively prepared for the exhibition, the task was more difficult than anticipated.

The statue of the Pharaoh Ehnaten makes its debut in Shanghai. [Photo/Zhang Hengwei]

Their work started at the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo, where artifacts were divided into large, medium and small categories, based on the packaging standards for the artifacts.

Zhao said that the Egyptian side did them a favor by transporting most of the involved artifacts from seven museums to the museum in Cairo, which shortened their work schedule to three weeks.

During the process, the team evaluated the status of the artifacts, their historical background, like existing damage and previous repairs. They also took into consideration the impact that long-distance transportation might have on them.

One of the challenges faced by Zhao's team was packing the large-sized artifacts, due to the limited space in the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. Another challenge was how to pack the artifacts to ensure minimum damage during transportation.

Zhao mentioned that the hot weather made doing inventory and packing more difficult, with the temperature reaching 55 C degrees on one day, the highest record in June in Africa since meteorological records began.

Now, Zhao's team has safely brought a total of 91 boxes of artifacts to Shanghai, including one box of documents. The exhibition will take place from July 19 of this year to Aug 17, 2025 at the Shanghai Museum.

Visitors can buy tickets on the museum's official WeChat account, with a limited number of early bird tickets priced at 120 yuan ($16.54).

Source: Shanghai Observer