Shanghai presents cat-friendly night at the museum

The Shanghai Museum announced groundbreaking plans on Monday for cat-friendly sessions for the upcoming exhibition On Top of the Pyramid: The Civilization of Ancient Egypt, which may give cat lovers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a night safari at the museum with their furry friends.

The exhibition, opening on July 18, will be the largest showcase of Egyptian art in China. The first exhibition of ancient Egyptian art curated by Chinese scholars and researchers, it will run for 13 months and features 788 objects selected from the collection of seven Egyptian museums and archaeological institutions. Among the highlights of the exhibition will be artifacts unearthed from the Saqqara site near Cairo, where ruins of a temple dedicated to Bastet, a cat deity dating back to 600 BC, were discovered.

"In ancient Egypt, Bastet was widely recognized as a symbol for spirituality and protection," said Chu Xiaobo, director of the Shanghai Museum. "The Egyptian admiration for Bastet goes beyond time and space, coincidental to people's fondness for the feline companion today. As part of the new initiatives for the exhibition, we have decided to host regular evening sessions for cat lovers on 10 consecutive Saturday evenings, starting on July 27."