On November 30, 2025, a transcontinental dialogue of civilizations commenced in Chengdu. The special exhibition “Golden Thread: The Art of Dressing from North Africa to East Asia”, jointly hosted by Chengdu Museum and Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac (one of France’s four national museums), officially opened to the public in the Special Exhibition Hall on the first floor of Chengdu Museum.

 

 

As the inaugural global stop and sole Chinese venue for this touring exhibition, the one featuring “golden thread” in Chengdu showcases over 200 items/sets of gold-woven treasures from seven French institutions—including Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, National Archaeological Museum (Musée d'Archéologie nationale), the National Museum of Natural History, and Musée des Confluences—alongside precious artifacts from eight Chinese cultural institutions such as China Silk Museum, Liaoning Provincial Museum, Gansu Provincial Museum, and Qinghai Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. Integrating cutting-edge archaeological discoveries, the exhibition presents a magnificent artistic feast spanning vast temporal and spatial dimensions.

 

The exhibition features exclusive collaborations with internationally renowned haute couture artist Guo Pei and Maison Lesage, creating a cross-cultural dialogue that traces the millennium-spanning evolution and fusion of gold thread artistry along the Silk Road.

 

 

This high-caliber international cultural exchange embodies the deepening friendship between Chengdu and its global network of friendly cooperation. A visible “golden thread” connects key milestones in museum cooperation:

 

This exhibition marks not only a milestone of Chengdu Museum’s bilateral cooperation with Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac but also Chengdu’s successful practice in building partnership with global cultural institutions & museums as well as in integrating into international networks of cultural exchange; it showcases how international collaboration injects new dynamism into urban cultural development.

 

 

Co-host of this exhibition, Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, is a world-renowned cultural landmark. Initiated by former French President Jacques Chirac, the museum was inaugurated in 2006 by him jointly with then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Designed by the acclaimed architect Jean Nouvel, the museum itself is an “architectural marvel”, featuring an 800-square-meter vertical garden wall that evokes an “urban forest”. As France’s only national museum dedicated exclusively to diverse cultures outside Europe, Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac safeguards a collection of over 300,000 treasures spanning multiple continents. Committed to the preservation and appreciation of global civilizations, it serves as a bridge connecting different cultures.

 

Edited by Zhang Yuanlin

Source: Chengdu Discovery