The 2025 Silk Road Week opens at the China National Silk Museum in Hangzhou. [Photo/China National Silk Museum]

The 2025 Silk Road Week opened on July 11 at the China National Silk Museum in Hangzhou — capital of East China's Zhejiang province — co-hosted by China's National Cultural Heritage Administration and the province's government.

This year's theme — Silk Ties the Ages, Roads Network the World — features Brazil as the guest country and North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region as the guest province.

The highlight exhibition, Verdant Miles: The Steppe Silk Road in the 10th to 12th Century, is showing over 200 cultural relics, including 60 top-grade artifacts.

Through treasures unearthed from sites like the Shangjing Site of the Liao Dynasty (916-1125) — located in present day Inner Mongolia and the first and most important capital of the dynasty — and immersive multimedia, the exhibition illustrates cultural diversity along the Steppe Silk Road.

The event also released the 2024 Annual Report on Silk Road Cultural Heritage, introducing top 10 lists across four categories to inspire further research.

An accompanying photography exhibition, Urban Indigo: The Many Faces of Brazil, spotlights the country's urban vibrancy. Collaborative workshops with UNESCO will focus on innovative storytelling approaches to promote intangible heritage.

Later this year, the silk museum will partner up with museums in Sao Paulo and Iguacu for exhibitions in Brazil. They'll include the Silk Road between Mountains and Seas — From the Home of the Silkworm to the Country of Samba. It features 122 pieces, blending ancient artifacts and contemporary silk art.

Performers in hanfu, traditional Chinese clothing, put on an umbrella dance at the opening ceremony. [Photo/China National Silk Museum]