Co-hosted by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), Dunhuang Academy, Hirayama Ikuo Silk Road Museum, the opening ceremony of Hirayama Ikuo’s Silk Road---Collections of Hirayama Ikuo Silk Road Museum was held on August 1st in Exhibition Center for the Conservation and Research of Dunhuang Cave Relics. Hundreds of guests including Mr. Hao Yuan, Vice Chairman of Gansu Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Mr. YOKOI Yutaka, Japanese Ambassador to China, and his wife YOKOI Eiko, Mr. Hu Sishe, Vice President of CPAFFC, Mme. Fan Jinshi，Honorary Director of the Dunhuang Academy, Mr. Wang Xudong, Director of the Dunhuang Academy, Mr. HIRAYAMA REN, Director of Hirayama Ikuo Silk Road Museum, Mr. MIYASAKO MASAAKI, Honorary Professor of the Tokyo University of the Arts, Mr. Chen Jianzhong, Chairman of the Board of KOUZAN Fine-arts Company, Mme. Ma Yuping, Director-General of Gansu Province of Cultural Heritage, Mr. Ma Cong, Deputy Director-General of the Foreign Affairs Overseas Chinese Affairs and Hongkong and Macao Affairs Office of Gansu Provincial People’s Government, Mr. Du Zhixue, Vice Chairman of Jiuquan Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Mr. Bai Xingwei, Deputy Director-General of Committee for Foreign Affairs and Affairs of Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan Compatriots and Overseas Chinese, CPPCC Gansu Provincial Committee, and etc., attended the opening ceremony.

This exhibition is one of the projects of the 3rd Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo. It was divided into three exhibition areas respectively with the theme of Hirayama Ikuo and Silk Spirit, Hirayama Ikuo and Dunhuang, Hirayama Ikuo and Silk Road. 170 pieces of relics from western part of Pamir Highland and 8 pieces of sketching work about Dunhuang grottos collected in the Hirayama Ikuo Silk Road Museum.  This exhibition not only displayed the magnificent Silk Road relics collected by Hirayama Ikuo in the past 40 years, but also reviewed his extraordinary life as a master painting, cultural ambassador between China and Japan, a guardian of world cultural heritage. 

Ambassador YOKOI Yutaka said in his opening speech that, this year marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of Japan-China Treaty of Peace and Friendship. It is at the right time and is of great significance to organize this exhibition for the bilateral relations during this period. Vice President Hu Sishe expressed, Hirayama Ikuo is an old friend of Chinese people and also is a representative of the friendship between peoples. He has been taking the lead and promoting the development of the Sino-Japanese friendship for a long time, and actively enhancing the friendship between peoples. Especially as President of Japan and China Friendship Association (JCFA) since 1992, he made great contribution to and played an important role in developing the friendly activities of peoples between China and Japan, which was highly praised by the governments and people of both countries. He hoped that this exhibition could promote the friendly exchanges between peoples and also make a positive impact on the cultural exchanges of the countries and the regions along the Belt and Road.