The shining jewel of ancient Shu civilization in Hengqin

In the cultural landscape of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Hengqin is quietly staging a dialogue of civilizations spanning three thousand years. I was extremely fortunate to visit the [Sanxingdui and Jinsha Relics Exhibition of Ancient Shu Treasures] on its last day. For the first time, 163 artifacts (sets) of bronzeware, goldware, and jade from the Sanxingdui and Jinsha Ruins were brought together in Hengqin, unveiling the mysterious veil of ancient Shu civilization for the audience. This exhibition is not only a feast of cultural relics, but also a continuation and integration of the bloodline of civilization. Sanxingdui culture lasted from the late Neolithic period to the early Western Zhou Dynasty, while the sacrificial activities of the Jinsha Ruins spanned a thousand years. The two developed in parallel during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. After Sanxingdui's shift as the political center, Jinsha took over as the new core, jointly constructing the complete chain of ancient Shu civilization. The gold masks, bronze figures, jade scepters, and other objects unearthed in the two places are highly similar in style, confirming the consistency of the main ethnic groups and the continuation of the belief system. The grand objects of Sanxingdui, such as the bronze sacred tree and the vertical-eye mask, symbolize the supreme theocratic sacrificial scenes, while the "small and beautiful" objects of Jinsha were mostly used for daily sacrifices, reflecting the evolution of social power. Times are changing rapidly, but culture has a long history. From the sacrificial pits in the Sichuan Basin to the art exhibition at the mouth of the Pearl River, the light of bronzeware is crossing thousands of years and mountains and seas, and is being reborn in Hengqin.