Egyptian national treasures will soon go on display in Beijing at the National Museum of China.

The month-long exhibition at the museum, east of Tian'anmen Square, will start next Friday. It features 143 cultural relics from ancient civilizations -- a collection valued at US$260 million.

The relics were on display at the Shanghai Exhibition Center since mid-October as part of the fourth Shanghai International Art Festival which ended last week.

It is the first time such a large number of relics rated of national importance have left Egypt, said Sun Qigang, curator of the exhibition.

The exhibition, entitled "Adventure into the Pyramid," has been organized by the museum, Jiangsu Performance Group and the Beijing Beisicheng Co.

Among the exhibits, the most precious is a 2-metre-tall stone statue of Akhenaten, which weighs 1.6 tons.

Akhenaten, known as "the heretic Pharaoh" who ruled Egypt about 3,300 years ago, was the first in the world to promote monotheism focusing on the sun god Aten, said Yan Haiying, associate professor with Peking University.

The statue of the pharaoh will stand out from all the others on display as it has a long, narrow face in sharp contrast with the square faces other pharaohs preferred.

Part of the collection from the National Museum Of Egypt, it has never been exhibited abroad before.

Besides the glories of the pharaohs, the colorful lives of common Egyptians from the ancient world are brought to life.

The Egyptians were the first to use cosmetics, bake bread and brew beer, said Yan.

Delicate mirrors of various designs, which have been found together with the mummy, will be shown at the exhibition. It was believed the first thing a mummy did after coming back to life was to look at itself in the mirror.

A small statue on show depicts a mother combing her daughter's hair affectionately. Another shows a beautiful young nude swimming.

An earring decorated with 17 cobras reflects the tastes of the time.

The ancient Egyptians' spiritual world is explored in replicas of Egyptian temples and statues of their gods and goddesses.

The Egyptians believed the life and death of a human being would come in turns forever like sunrise and sunset.

Three lectures will be held during the exhibition, by Chinese researchers on Egyptian studies as well as Egyptian scholars.

(China Daily November 27, 2003)