Changsha, China, July 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On the morning of June 30, the grand special exhibition "Dunhuang – A Great Cultural Treasure" officially opened at the Hunan Museum. Zhang Xiaogang, Deputy Director of the Dunhuang Academy, Li Lihui, Deputy Curator of the Hunan Museum, and Su Xing, Deputy Curator of the Dunhuang Museum, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. Representatives of cultural and museum institutions from inside and outside Hunan, the curatorial team, and journalists from major mainstream media witnessed the launch of the exhibition together.
Rooted in decades of landmark research achievements of the Digital Dunhuang project by the Dunhuang Academy, this major exhibition features more than 200 sets of precious exhibits, including full-scale replicated cave grottoes, high-quality copies of murals and painted sculptures, as well as unearthed relics and ancient documents from Dunhuang. It fully presents the splendid civilization of Dunhuang shaped by over a thousand years of integrated, inclusive and innovative development of diverse civilizations. Hosted in Hunan during the peak summer cultural tourism season, the exhibition enables a cross-temporal dialogue between the desert Silk Road civilization and Hunan’s cultural heritage, creating an ideal environment for cultural communication and widespread public attention.
Regarded as a high-standard landmark exhibition with exquisite collections among all Dunhuang touring exhibitions to date, it breaks the conventional popular and scenario-based display modes of ordinary Dunhuang shows. Centered on three core highlights—the rarity of national treasure-level cultural relics, the uniqueness of exclusive copies crafted by master artists, and the irreplaceable authenticity of original manuscripts from the Library Cave—the exhibition assembles top-tier treasures to deliver a cultural feast integrating scarcity, visual appeal and academic value.
The exhibition gathers over 20 Grade One Cultural Relics of China, including the Northern Wei embroidered Buddhist painting (a cultural relic prohibited from overseas exhibition), Han Dynasty bamboo slips inscribed with the character "Dunhuang", and the Stele Recording Li Kerang’s Renovation of Mogao Grottoes niches, alongside other national treasures. A large number of original artifacts unearthed from Dunhuang’s Library Cave are also on display, boasting irreplaceable primary historical research value.
Technology breathes new life into the thousand-year-old Dunhuang culture. A VR immersive interactive experience titled "Journey into Dunhuang" is set up at the end of the exhibition hall. Visitors wearing VR headsets can freely explore cave spaces in 360 degrees, observe intricate textures of murals in high definition, and listen to historical stories and cultural connotations behind the artworks. Digital technology injects new vitality into ancient grotto art and realizes in-depth integration of traditional cultural relics and modern technology.
Running through the peak summer visiting period, the exhibition will further boost publicity and promote the charm of Dunhuang culture through featured educational activities, digital displays and original cultural and creative merchandise. More than a cross-temporal encounter between Silk Road civilization and Hunan culture, this exhibition serves as a vivid practice of inheriting, innovating and promoting fine traditional Chinese culture. It allows citizens and tourists to appreciate the millennial aesthetic heritage of Dunhuang, experience the profound grotto art, and feel the glorious integration of Silk Road civilizations through immersive viewing. (Report by Li Xiao)
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