On 16 September 2026, the 2026 "Reviving Craft – Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Design" exhibition ("Reviving Craft"), organised by Sun Media Group, officially opened at Somerset House in London. Under the theme "Reflection of the Mind" and deeply rooted in the Chinese philosophical traditions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism, the exhibition is divided into three thematic sections: "Clear the Mind", "Refine the Mind" and "Nourish the Mind". Together, they showcase the beauty of Chinese intangible cultural heritage alongside the vitality of contemporary design. As a key node on the ancient Silk Road, millennium-old Dunhuang culture made a striking appearance in London, offering the world a vivid interpretation of the Silk Road's rich civilisational legacy and the distinctive charm of Eastern aesthetics.
Situated at the western end of the Hexi Corridor, Dunhuang has a history of more than 2,100 years since it was first established as an administrative centre in the Western Han Dynasty, and has long served as a major hub where Chinese civilisation converged with those of ancient India, ancient Greece and ancient Persia. Over the course of a millennium, Dunhuang has absorbed the finest elements of both Eastern and Western civilisations, giving rise to a distinctive Silk Road cultural system that unites grotto art, bamboo and wooden slip manuscripts, frontier historical sites and folk traditions. Treasured heritage sites within its borders, including Yumen Pass and Xuanquan Station, have carried forward the Silk Road's cultural legacy from generation to generation, embodying the openness, inclusiveness and spirit of mutual learning that define the Silk Road. Through its participation in the exhibition, Dunhuang is using culture as a bond to share with audiences in Britain the cultural essence of Chinese civilisation: its openness to diverse influences and its spirit of exchange and coexistence.
At the exhibition, carefully selected replicas of prized artefacts from the Dunhuang Museum collection took centre stage as a highlight of the show. Founded in 1979, the Dunhuang Museum holds more than 13,000 pieces/sets of cultural relics spanning from the Neolithic period to the Ming and Qing dynasties, with its Han- and Tang-dynasty Silk Road artefacts being of especially high historical and scholarly value. The replica of the Mold-cast Brick with a Central Asian Merchant Leading a Camel, Tang Dynasty, on display recreates the flourishing trade of the ancient Silk Road through delicate low-relief craftsmanship. Also on show is a replica of the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, faithfully reproducing the sewn binding of the original and compiling five Chan Buddhist texts in one volume. With its neatly arranged black-ruled columns and finely applied silver powder along the edges, the replica faithfully captures the calligraphic charm and artistic value of the original Dunhuang manuscripts, allowing overseas visitors to experience up close the refined depth of traditional Chinese culture.
Beyond the display of replica artefacts, Dunhuang Cultural Creations joined forces with the Fan Yanyan Silk Art Centre to bring the millennium-old Dunhuang cultural IP to life through contemporary design. Classic motifs from the murals, including the Nine-Coloured Deer, the Three Hares Sharing Ears, flying apsaras and reverse-playing pipa figures, have been innovatively incorporated into everyday cultural-creative products such as silk scarves, tea ware and paper-sculpture stationery, bringing the thousand-year-old grotto art beyond the murals and into daily life. Centred on Dunhuang culture, this series of exhibits blends traditional heritage with contemporary aesthetics, fully demonstrating the achievements of Dunhuang's efforts in the creative transformation and innovative development of traditional culture.
Dunhuang culture's presence at this international exhibition in London marks an important step in its global outreach. As a key hub for cultural exchange under the Belt and Road Initiative, Dunhuang uses tangible, visible and touchable cultural forms to carry Silk Road civilisation across mountains and seas to the world beyond its millennium-old origins. Through dialogue between Chinese and British civilisations, it conveys emotion through objects and touches the heart through culture, continuing to showcase to the international community the authentic, multidimensional and vivid charm of Chinese culture, while helping deepen and strengthen cultural exchange and mutual learning between China and other countries.
The London exhibition is set to run until 27 September 2026. (By Su Xing and Tang Nannan)
© Affaires Officielles