TEHRAN - The Guangdong Museum in Guangzhou is currently hosting the Iranian cultural relics exhibition “Land of Kindness”, offering visitors a rare glimpse into five millennia of Persian art, culture, and craftsmanship.

The loan exhibition, which first opened at the Sichuan University Museum in Chengdu months ago, has been met with wide public interest and enthusiastic media coverage in China.

Organized under the auspices of Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts, the exhibition is conducted in full compliance with international museum standards and legal frameworks. The event is a collaborative effort by the ministry’s Cultural Heritage Deputy, the General Directorate of Museums, the Tehran Provincial Office, the University of Tehran, and their Chinese counterparts.

Land of Kindness presents 151 selected cultural and historical artifacts loaned from several of Tehran’s prestigious museums, including the Moghadam Museum of the University of Tehran, the Reza Abbasi Museum, the Carpet Museum of Iran, as well as the Glassware and Ceramic Museum of Iran.

Spanning from the third millennium BC to the later Islamic periods, the displayed items include intricately crafted metalworks, ceramics, glassware, textiles, and Persian carpets. These objects not only demonstrate Iran’s artistic evolution but also narrate key stages in its cultural history—from the era of Mithraic rituals to the advent of Islam.

A key feature of the exhibition is its immersive design, inspired by iconic elements of Iranian art and architecture. Visitors enter through an area reminiscent of the Quranic tilework of Tehran’s Golestan Palace, while the main exhibition hall features stained glass and geometric patterns evocative of the Nasir al-Mulk Mosque in Shiraz. This carefully curated ambiance invites visitors into the spiritual and artistic heart of Iranian heritage.

In a special collaborative section, the Guangdong Museum has creatively juxtaposed selected Iranian and Chinese artifacts from its own collection. This artistic dialogue focuses on shared motifs, such as glazed ceramics and floral and bird imagery, highlighting historical connections and mutual aesthetic sensibilities along the ancient Silk Road.

The exhibition, which runs in Guangzhou from March 30 to June 16, has been warmly received by Chinese visitors, many of whom have expressed admiration for Iran’s rich cultural legacy and hope to learn more about it in the future.

Beyond presenting the artistic wealth of Iran, Land of Kindness underscores the strengthening of cultural ties between Iran and China, fostering greater understanding and appreciation through cross-cultural exchanges.

Last December, another loan exhibition from Iran, named “The Glory of Ancient Persia”, was held in Xinjiang, following successful showcases in Beijing and Shanghai. Organized by Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts in cooperation with the Chinese government, the exhibition showcased over 280 artifacts spanning more than 3,000 years of Persian history. The collection includes treasures from prominent archaeological sites across Iran, such as the National Museum of Iran, the Persepolis Museum, and regional museums in Rasht and Gorgan.

Iran, an ancient land steeped in history, boasts one of the world’s oldest continuous major civilizations, with settlements dating back to 4000 BC. It is adorned with a wealth of cultural treasures, including bazaars, museums, mosques, bridges, bathhouses, madrasas, gardens, and diverse natural landscapes, complemented by 28 UNESCO labels.

Viewed through a broader lens, Iranian history unfolds in two distinct eras: pre-Islamic and Islamic. The rise of the Medes in 625 BC marked the unification of Iran into a nation and empire. However, it was the Islamic conquest of Persia (633–656) that signaled a pivotal moment, bringing an end to the powerful Sassanid Empire (224–651) and reshaping the course of the nation’s history.

AM