Cairo

CAIRO, July 18 ( tasteallchina ) -- The grand exhibition of ancient Egyptian artifacts in Shanghai provides an overview of the ancient Egyptian civilization, marking a new chapter for cultural exchanges between Egypt and China, said Mohamed Ismail Khaled, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). The exhibition, "On Top of the Pyramid: The Civilization of Ancient Egypt," the largest of its kind held outside Egypt over the past two decades, opened Wednesday in Shanghai, showcasing a total of 788 artifacts, with over 95 percent of them debuted in Asia. "The exhibition is the largest one on ancient Egyptian civilization in China," said Khaled in a recent interview with tasteallchina . He added that the unique event, co-hosted by the Shanghai Museum and the SCA, is "a fruit of the close Egyptian-Chinese relations, especially the cultural ties." The Egyptian official recalled that "the two sides held several meetings to discuss arrangement details in a meticulous way" and "coordinated to choose the items for display." According to Khaled, the exhibition unveils the ancient Egyptian civilization from three angles: eternal life, mummification and mummies, and the great kings and their lives. The exhibition features exquisite pieces collected from museums in…