THE British Museum's first major exhibit in China, the blockbuster "Treasures of World Civilization" is on display at the Capital Museum of Beijing through June 5.

The collection of 272 treasures includes the world's oldest tool from Africa, a 3,000-year-old mummy, ancient Egyptian tablets, Greek busts and Roman sculptures.

The intention of the British Museum is to bring the whole world into one building, said Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, at the opening ceremony, adding that the British Museum is "not a museum of the whole world, but for the whole world."

Guo Xiaoling, curator of the Capital Museum, said: "Every piece of work represents a civilization, a human being's development history. We learn about the outside world in order to understand ourselves better."

"Chinese civilization is the only civilization, out of the ancient civilizations that originated in approximately 4,000 to 2,000 B.C., traveling in one continuous line. A nation with such vitality will definitely have a beautiful future," Guo said.

Nevertheless, no Chinese items collected by the British Museum are on display in the exhibition.

Five lectures on world history have been arranged during the exhibition. MacGregor gave the first lecture, entitled "Around the World in 20 Objects," after the opening ceremony.

Part of the London museum's 250th birthday celebration, the show began its international tour in Japan in 2003, attracting 1.3 million visitors in four cities, then traveled to Seoul, South Korea, where it was seen by 600,000.

The British Museum is planning to hold more exhibitions in China in conjunction with the Palace Museum and the National Museum of China. It is also thinking of showing Chinese treasures in Britain, according to Jane Portal, assistant keeper of the British Museum.

Editor: Wing