Display of rare treasures marks Cultural Heritage Day

　　The "Yan Shan Ming" hand scroll was purchased for 29.9 million yuan (US$3.74 million) from a Japanese collector.

　　The "Chun Hua Ge" collection, bought back to Shanghai Museum from the United States in 2003 at a cost of at least US$4.5 million, has been regarded as the "great grandfather of the model copies of Chinese calligraphic art" for centuries by Chinese artists and art historians.

　　The seven Buddhist sculpture s, which were smuggled overseas in the early 20th Century, were finally returned to China last October.

　　The "Five Bulls Scroll" is known to the world as the oldest surviving coloured Chinese ink painting done on a sheet of paper.

　　In the last display hall of the exhibition, visitors can not only appreciate some 12 sets of colourful shadow puppets, along with musical instruments used during puppet shows, but also can watch live performances from the Changli County Xiangdong Shadow Puppet Troupe.

　　From June 5 to 20, the troupe will give at least four live performances a day, with a repertory of three programmes, said troupe founder Zhang Xiangdong, a retired civil servant and lover of shadow puppetry.

　　To help the visitors better understand the exhibition, video shows, touch-screen display units, audio guides and leaflets on China's cultural heritages are also available during the month-long exhibition, the organizers say.

　　The ticket price for the exhibition, which is open daily from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, is 5 yuan (60 US cents) to attract more visitors, said Ma Yingmin from the museum.