Dancers wearing traditional Uygur costumes perform a traditional dance from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region at the opening ceremony of the Xinjiang jade exhibition in Xiamen on May 13. [Photo/cnr.cn]

Hotan jade, a precious kind of jade from Hotan city in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, has been the most representative carrier of China's traditional jade culture since the Shang Dynasty (c.16th century – 11th century BC).

An exhibition featuring jade articles from Xinjiang including some Hotan jade articles was launched at the Kulangsu Gallery of Foreign Artefacts from the Palace Museum Collection on Xiamen's Gulangyu Island, Fujian province on May 13.

A Hotan jade Chinese cabbage is displayed at the Xinjiang jade exhibition. [Photo/cnr.cn]

A total of 25 pieces (sets) of jade articles are on display in the exhibition, ranging from raw stones to elaborately carved ornaments, seals and wine bowls.

According to the management committee of Gulangyu Island, the exhibition aims at promoting in-depth cultural exchanges between Fujian and Xinjiang, and showing the historic role of Xinjiang jade in the development of the Silk Road, a network of ancient trade routes linking China in the East with ancient Rome in the West and beyond.

The exhibition will last for two months until July 13.

Visitors take a close look at the exhibits at the Xinjiang jade exhibition on May 13. [Photo/cnr.cn]