The 2020 Silk Road Week Opening Ceremony was held in Hangzhou, China

On June 19, 2020, the opening ceremony of the first "2020 Silk Road Week" (hereafter, SRW) was held at the China National Silk Museum (hereafter, NSM). SRW is organized by the National Cultural Heritage Administration and the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province, on the theme of "The Silk Roads: Mutual Learning for Future Collaborations". International Silk Union (hereafter, ISU) as the supported unit particpated in the event. Zhang Guoqiang, chairman of ISU, as well as government leaders, representatives of cultural and cultural institutions, experts, scholars and youth representatives attended the meeting.

The idea for an annual "Silk Road Week" was first raised on June 21, 2019, when the International Association for the Study of Silk Road Textiles (IASSRT) and the Chinese Museums Association’s Committee of Museums along the Silk Road jointly proposed the “Hangzhou Initiative for Dissemination and Promotion of the Silk Road Spirit”, which aimed to better recognize and draw on the contents and value of the Silk Road, and to strengthen the protection of the Silk Road sites and relics. The plan for the SRW is that within the week around June 22 each year, museums and other institutions around the world organize activities, including exhibitions, performances, reports, seminars etc, to mark and celebrate the anniversary of the Silk Road - from Chang’an to the Tianshan Corridor - becoming a UNESCO World Heritage location on June 22, 2014.

The SRW programme includes the following events:

Temporary exhibition titled "The Silk Roads: before and after Richthofen"

This is an exhibition on the academic history of the Silk Roads. ‘The Silk Road(s)' is in fact a relatively recent term, and for most of their long history, these ancient roads had no particular name. Thus, the Silk Roads can be considered in three parts, the historical facts of the exchange routes between the East and the West; the era in which Ferdinand von Richthofen, the German geologist, named the trade and communication network Die Seidenstrasse(n) [the Silk Road)s] in the mid-nineteenth century; the Silk Road project launched by UNESCO and Silk Road as a World Heritage location. The exhibition is intended to introduce the idea of Silk Road research and its conservation practice, so as to carry forward the connotation of the Silk Road Spirit.

Temporary exhibition titled "Mutual Learning on the Silk Roads: Stories of the Silk Road Treasures"  

Silk exported by China used to be most representative of this route, hence the name Silk Roads. Although the Silk Roads were named after silk, not only silk and silk weaving skills were exchanged along the route, which was a main channel for cultural exchanges between the East and West. Materials, commodities, techniques, and cultures were exchanged along this route, and these commodities and techniques formed the main content of mutual learning on the Silk Roads.

This exhibition is intended to tell stories of mutual learning on the Silk Roads through cultural relics. Exhibits here are carefully selected from the 19 museums and institutions and each will surely touch our hearts and bring infinite emotion and yearning for the Silk Roads to us. As the Buddhist scripture says, one flower is a universe, one leaf is a Buddha.

Temporary exhibition titled "International Silk Boutique Exhibition -- Silk Road Splendid"  

The main purpose of International Silk Art Exhibition Hall is to promote communication in the field of silk in various countries and regions. The display of silk boutiques and brands is to reflect the profoundness of silk culture.

For this International Silk Boutique Exhibition, ISU invites 6 companies(brands) from Laos, Cambodia, China, which are Mulberries, Kei Meas, Cathaya, Jingluntang, High Fashion and Canyuan. All the exhibits are rich and diverse, covering scarves, fabrics, apparel, household goods and silk protein soaps, etc., trying to enrich the public's understanding of silk through the application in different regions and product fields, demonstrate the diversity of sericulture and broaden the use of silk.

The launch of "Annual Report of Silk Road Cultural Heritage 2019"

This is the most academic content of the SRW. It will introduce the major events in the field of Silk Road cultural heritage in 2019 in four categories: a comprehensive survey, archaeology, exhibition and academic research, and will select the top ten in each category: cultural events, archaeological discoveries, Silk Road-themed exhibitions and academic publications. To this end, we invited the most famous academic research institution “CNKI” in China to cooperate with foreign counterparts to retrieve and sort the relevant data of the four categories from its global database. We also specially invited experts on the Silk Road in international museums to review and supplement the relevant contents of the annual report, and to participate in the evaluation of the comprehensive section of the annual report, write comments, and finally form the "Top 10 Recommendations" for the Silk Road cultural heritage.

The official launch of "World Map of Silk Project"

The World Map of Silk Project is an international collaboration project which has been supported by the UNESCO who has already signed the Co-publishing agreement with NSM on April 2020. The Project aims to integrate all the resources and information related to the silk heritage, including archaeological discoveries, historical documents, craftsmanship, industrial heritage, natural ecology, museum collections, etc. and establish a platform based on the geographical distribution to demonstrate the history of silk development, exchanges along the Silk Road, and manufacture of silk industry.

Museum Curator's Symposium

In 2020, NSM will hold two exhibitions: The Silk Roads: Before and After Richthofen and Mutual Learning on the Silk Roads: Stories of the Silk Road Treasures which will open on June 19, 2020 and last till August 23, 2020. In conjunction with the exhibitions, NSM will host a three-day seminar on June 20 - 22 that explores different aspects of the Silk Roads such as Silk Road exhibitions, collections, cultural heritage and curating experience.