Largest exhibition of ancient American artifacts opens in Shanghai

Juan Manuel Garibay López, national coordinator of museums and exhibitions at Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History described the project as a monumental effort by Shanghai Museum to deepen public understanding of Mesoamerican civilizations.

"I hope Chinese audiences will situate Mesoamerica in time and make comparisons with their own cultural history," he said. "To understand another culture is to understand ourselves—which is very important nowadays."

For Shanghai Museum Director Chu Xiaobo, the exhibition marks an unprecedented attempt to interpret Mesoamerican civilizations through a distinctly Chinese lens. It is the sixth installment in the museum's A Dialogue with the World series, which prioritizes partnerships with countries where civilizations originated.

"Many leading Western museums hold extraordinary collections of American artifacts," Chu noted. "But rather than borrowing from them, we chose to work directly with the source nations. As heirs to an ancient civilization ourselves, we believe this approach better honors the dignity and ownership of original cultures."