The National Museum of China last week launched Silk Road, the country's highest-level exhibition so far on cultural relics discovered along the historical overland route, which continues through Jan 4.

The two-month long display, co-organized by the Ministry of Culture, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and several provincial governments, presents more than 400 exhibit items from 44 museums in 14 province-level administrative regions. It is developed from a previous nationwide touring exhibition that includes some 200 pieces from 21 museums in northwestern China.

"The Silk Road was a complex road network connecting the East and West and an artery for the different civilizations on the route to absorb one another's goods and cultures," says Song Xinchao, deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. "It was a non-bellicose path for peaceful development, which created a fundamental tone for our exhibition today."