Museum opens doors for 168 hours to catch last glimpse of ancient Egypt

A cruise along the Huangpu River in Shanghai shows an advertisement for the Egypt exhibition. (Photo provided to China Daily)

The Shanghai Museum's gate will be open for 168 hours straight from Aug. 11 to 17 during the final week of its largest exhibition, On Top of the Pyramid: The Civilization of Ancient Egypt, it announced on Tuesday.

Hailed as the largest exhibition of ancient Egyptian artifacts ever held outside their native country, On Top of the Pyramid represents a pioneering collaboration between an official Chinese museum and the Egyptian government. Nearly 95 percent of the 780 artifacts on display are making their debut appearance in Asia. After opening on July 19, 2024, its 13-month run at the Shanghai Museum on People's Square will soon come to an end.

The exhibition has set one of the highest attendance records worldwide for a single-ticket museum exhibition of cultural relics. As of Monday, it received nearly 2.6 million visitors, and it is expected that the total number of visitors will exceed 2.7 million by the time it closes. Nearly 70 percent of the attendees have come from outside Shanghai, according to Chu Xiaobo, director of the Shanghai Museum.

Thanks to the exhibition, the museum achieved revenue of more than 400 million yuan ($55.74 million) from 449 cultural activities and derivative product sales. According to the museum, the exhibition has increased comprehensive consumption by over 20 billion yuan in Shanghai.

As the exhibition comes to a close, the museum has found that many people have difficulty booking a reservation to visit. "We decided to keep the exhibition open for 168 hours nonstop to allow as many people as possible a final opportunity to see the Egyptian artifacts," Chu says.