China, Egypt ink deal to exhibit ancient Egyptian relics in Shanghai

CAIRO, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Representatives of China and Egypt signed on Sunday a cooperation agreement for organizing an exhibition of ancient Egyptian cultural relics in China, according to a press release of the Chinese Embassy in Cairo.

Shanghai Museum is slated to host the exhibition from July 19 to August 17. It will display nearly 800 artifacts spanning different eras of ancient Egypt, including statues of Kings Tutankhamun, Amenemhat III, Ramesses II, and Queen Hatshepsut.

The selected pieces were taken from several museums in Cairo, Suez, Luxor and Ismailia cities as well as warehouses of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The deal was signed by Chu Xiaobo, director of the Shanghai Museum, and Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Yang Ronghao, cultural counselor for the Chinese Embassy in Egypt and director of the China Cultural Center in Cairo, and Ahmed Issa, Egypt's minister of tourism and antiquities, attended the ceremony.

Issa voiced his pleasure that China will host the expo, saying that it will be a platform for advertising Egyptian tourist products in China.