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

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.