7 days in Cad'ota: Exploring Niya Ruins from an archeological perspective

The "Seven Days of the Cad'ota: Xinjiang Niya Ruins Immersive Exhibition" is currently on at the Lafayette Culture and Arts Center in Shanghai and will run through July 25.

The exhibition guides visitors to explore the Niya Ruins from the perspective of archeological discovery, as they embark on a "seven-day tour" of the ancient city.

Organized by the Xinjiang Museum, Shanghai Huangpu Culture and Tourism Group Ltd and the Publicity Department of Huangpu District, the exhibition has also received academic support from JUCE Culture that combines modern concepts and designs in reflecting the historical and cultural characteristics of the Niya Ruins.

Sited in the Taklamakan Desert, the ancient city of Niya is about 115 kilometers north to today's Niya City in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It was named Cad'ota in the local language and Jingjue in Chinese.

Once shining brilliantly along the Silk Road, Jingjue suddenly vanished. In 1901, British explorer Aurel Stein discovered the "Niya Ruins" in the Taklamakan Desert, and confirmed in 1909 that Niya was Jingjue City during the Han (206 BC-AD 220) and Jin (265–420) periods.

From 1959 through the 1980s, Chinese archeological teams conducted multiple surveys of Niya. The successful completion of a Sino-Japanese archeological project in 1997 marked a century of archeological excavations of the Niya Ruins, which yielded rich findings and can be seen as a microcosm of Xinjiang's archeological history.

This exhibition integrates digital art, interactive theater experience, virtual reality and other cutting-edge technologies, providing an immersive experience to visitors.

For example, on entering the exhibition hall, each visitor will be given a flashlight to start their adventure. The whole space is covered and piled up with sands, resembling a mini dessert. Using the flashlight, visitors are able to discover the digital cultural relics buried in the sand.

With the help of virtual reality technology, they can also witness the clothing, food, housing and transportation of the Jingjue people, encountering the life and civilization of this once prosperous ancient city.

The exhibition also features more than 100 cultural relic objects from the Xinjiang Museum, which are being displayed in Shanghai for the first time. Among them is a replica of a brocade armband from the Han Dynasty embroidered with Chinese characters.

If you go:

Date: Through July 25, 9am–7pm

Venue: Lafayette Culture and Arts Center

Address: 323 Fuxing Rd M. 复兴中路323号

Admission: 98 yuan