Sculpting a civilization

One of the stars of the exhibition is a vivid "circular" jade phoenix loaned from the National Museum of China. With its highly stylized design, it is known as "China's first phoenix".

"For Shijiahe people, birds are of a higher rank than cicadas, a symbol of a higher level. They are divine and sacred, having the power to communicate with deities," says Cheng, the show's curator.

Deity portraits and figurines are also common subjects in Shijiahe jade culture. The jade figurines were regarded as images of the ancient people's ancestors. There were jade pieces featuring two deities' faces connecting with each other, a deity's face with the body of a snake, and a deity's face with two eagles standing on its head.

"Shijiahe people used their creativity and bold imagination to show their worship and respect for nature, their deities and their forefathers," says Cheng.

In addition to their creative designs, the craftsmen's skills were also highly sophisticated. All of these jade pieces are very small, just several centimeters in length, with some being similar in size to a fingernail.

According to the curator, the most challenging aspect of curating the show is figuring out how to ensure that audiences can clearly see these small artifacts within a large exhibition space. Magnifying glasses are placed near some exhibits, and some patterns have been pictured, enlarged and mounted on the walls.